The Lost Child
by Thura Nightingale
Summary: Olivia Benson has always wanted a child, but she has given up hope. Also, she struggles with the memories of her own traumatic childhood. Maybe she needs a daughter who can help her face her own demons, and in this way they can help each other. This story is about two lost children, Olivia and a kid no one wants. Finally something good happening for Olivia ;)
1. Childhood demons

**The lost child**

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Summary: Olivia has always wanted a child, but she has given up hope. Also she struggles with the memories of her own traumatic childhood. Maybe she needs a kid who can help her face her own demons, and in this way they can help each other. This story is about an unlikely bond between a lost child and Olivia Benson, who remembers what it was like to feel lost.

Chapter 1: childhood demons

Olivia Benson awoke with a shock, gasping for air.

Where am I, was her first thought.

Then it all came back: I'm in my apartment, Manhattan, New York. It's the middle of the night. You're a grown woman in your 30's with a succesful career, independent and strong...

...

Yeah, who am I kidding...

She hated these dreams, these flashbacks. They always left her breathless when she woke up. They left her feeling like that little girl again she once was, helpless and lonely.

Images of her dream came flooding back.

_'Momma please don't.. _

_I'll make diner for us both._

_You don't have to worry, I promise it'll be good._

_Just stay here, please..._

_Momma!'_

Trying desperately to think of something else, she threw her covers back as she rolled onto her back. She looked up at the ceiling and could almost hear her mothers voice...

_'Yeah, sure you can come in.'_

_The little girl heard her mother giggling, almost like a little girl would. But she knew it was the alcohol talking. _

_Ten year old Olivia looked up at the ceiling and tried to make up a story in her head._

_She tried to drown out the sounds of her mother... and some man she didn't even know. Tomorrow he'd be gone and her momma would be lying on the floor, passed out or crying. Maybe even with a black eye or two. _

_Best thing for her to do now was just keep still.._

She got up from bed. Not a chance she would fall back asleep now. She put on a sweatshirt while walking towards the kitchen.

Coffee. That would keep her up.

_The next morning the little girl found her mother crying, and half passed out on her bed._

_There was vomit on the floor._

_'Don't worry momma, I'll take care of it..'_

With the biggest mug she could find in the whole of New York City filled with strong black coffee she lay down on her couch and turned on the TV.

Nothing good was on, really. Just the news, a spanish soap opera and some movie about a little girl. She was shaking her head she tried to focus on CNN.

_Young Olivia picked up a blanket and put it over her mother,_

_who had fallen into a deep alcoholic sleep again,_

_softly whispering: 'I love you, Momma'_

A few hours later, after watching an all-night-marathon of Sex and the City, the sun had started to come up, and Olivia knew one thing for sure: Her sex life sucked.

Then there was a knock on her door. Suprised, Olivia looked at her clock. Who would come calling at half passed six in the morning?

She picked up her baseball bat.

'Who is it?', she asked suspiciously.

'It's me, Elliot'

Opening the door, Olivia let him in.

'What are you doing here this early?', she demanded.

'Don't you look classy,' Elliot grinned at her clothes and eyeing the bat: 'You think I was gonna drag you into some alley?'

'You're funny' she replied, stonefaced.

'So tell me what you're doing on my doorstep at 6 in the morning.'

He sighed and looked down.

'El, are you okay?' she asked more softly now.

'Hmm, any chance of a cup of coffee?'

She smiled at him. 'Sure'

Elliot made his way to the couch and sat down. Olivia watched him as he buried his head in his hands.

'Can't believe you made a comment on my looks', she called from the kitchen, 'You look like hell.'

'I was just working on this case, paperwork. Finished up at 2 last night. I just couldn't face Kathy and the kids, not with my head filled with those images.', he sighed.

She handed him his coffee.

'The case got to you, huh.'

Elliot nodded and rubbed his eyes, 'I guess..'

Olivia watched him for a while. She really was concerned.

'Well, you get some rest here, or watch Sex and the City or whatever. I'm gonna take a shower and get dressed', she said as she squeezed his shoulder.

'Liv?'

Yea?' She turned around

'Why are you up?'

'Everyone has their demons, Elliot', she said, after a while, then turning away.

Laying down on the couch, he nodded.

He understood what she meant.

A few hours later they left the apartment for work.

Olivia had to drag him away from Sex and the City, who knew!

'Wait! I just forgot my wallet.'

She quickly ran back inside and grabbed her stuff.

_The young brunette stuffed her self-made lunch into her little pink bagpack._

_'Momma, I'm leaving for school now!'_

_There was no reply. _

_'Bye, Momma', she said softly and carefully closed the door behind her._

'Got it!' Liv called out and she slammed her door shut, as she ran down the hall.

**Any sort of review or tips would be amazing, thanks!**


	2. Hotdog

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 2: Hotdog

Elliot and Olivia were walking through Hell's Kitchen, a rather poor neighbourhood in Manhattan. They were on their way back from interviewing a suspect in a murder and rape case.

Olivia was pissed. She just knew he was their guy, but he was smart. No proof, no blood, no DNA, nothing. He even had an alibi. So how did she know? She had seen that cocky twinkle in his eye a thousand times before...

Then it started to rain as well.

'O F—Great, that's just great! Just what I need...' Olivia yelled up at the sky, as she turned up her collar.

Elliot slowly turned to her. 'Are you okay? I mean, really?'

'Yeah, I'm just perfect', she snapped.

'Liv, will you just calm down... We can't arrest the guy just because you think he looks shady, okay? I'm sorry, but the law doesn't cover your female intuitions.'

'What? El...', Olivia started to protest in anger.

'... Even though I would trust them in a heartbeat!' he said, quickly.

She smirked to herself, and he nudged her gently with his elbow.

'Nice save,' she mumbled.

They stopped in the streets and faced each other.

'So, where do we go from here?' Olivia wanted to know

Elliot sighed deeply. 'I honestly don't know... We should go back and pray that our perp messed up somehow and left some forensic evidence.'

Olivia nodded and said, 'You just wanna get a hotdog or something? I'm starving.'

They sat down on some stone steps facing a large gritty-looking building. While eating their food, they edged back under the shelter of their building, as it started to rain harder.

A little kid came out of the building opposite. Olivia watched as he sat down on the stone steps across the street. A black hoody was drawn over his eyes. He became soaking wet in seconds but it didn't seem to affect him.

He just sat there.

Olivia put her hotdog down, waiting for the child to do something, anything!

'What do you think he's waiting for?' Olivia asked her partner.

'Hmm.. who?'

Elliot looked up and looked around a bit vaguely.

'O, you mean the kid? Hardly saw him in the rain, and huddled like that in the corner... Dunno, his mother maybe...'

All of a sudden there was a loud crashing noise of glass left of them. Both detectives jumped up and saw a woman hanging out of the window, screaming and cursing in Italian at a man on the streets. He raised a fist and dared to reply. Then all hell broke loose. She threw clothes, books and even a chair at his head. He dodged it all calmly.

Elliot was already running up the stairs and Olivia was right behind him. The right apartment was easily found: follow the shouting. Elliot quickly restrained the woman, as Olivia tried to calm her down with the little Italian she knew.

A few minutes later they walked downstairs again. Marital problems, or so they were told. At least the woman had calmed down and she'd let her husband back in again.

As she pushed through the door, Olivia nearly tripped over the tiny hooded figure, who had apparently crossed the street and was now rapidly eating her hotdog.

'Will you look at that.' Elliot whispered next to her.

She sat down beside the kid, 'Enjoying that?'

He almost jumped out of his skin. After the shock, which was pretty fast, he cocked his little head to one side and eyed her curiously. He didn't seem nervous at all for eating their food.

It was hard to make out a face in that oversized hoody, but Olivia could see a few things quite clearly, sitting next to him: He was absolutely soaked, looked at them with cautious, but gorgeous, almost black eyes and his lip was split open and bloody.

Then a smile spread across the young face, but it didn't reach the eyes.

'You're cops.'

'Yeah, buddy,'Elliot said, who could now also see the bruises around his eye, 'wanna see my badge?'

'Why would I?' the kid replied, audaciously, 'Got my own.'

With that he reached into his pockets and produced a badge, identical to the one Elliot was holding.

Too suprised to do anything, they just looked at the kid for a second. Then, realising what had happened, Olivia felt inside her pocket: Her badge was gone.

But the kid had already jumped up, dodged Elliot's grip and ran down the steps.

'Gotta be faster, old man!' he said to Elliot, with a wink, and quickly threw Olivia her badge.

Before they could react, the kid had already vanished.

**Please review :)**


	3. Stakeout

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 3: Stakeout

'I really don't think he'll break parole after just one day of freedom, Elliot.'

Olivia yawned again, 'I need coffee... We've been here for hours.'

Elliot coughed and picked up the car radio.

'Detective Stabler here, at 3.15 P.M. All units be advised, do not approach the subject. Detective Benson and I will be leaving position now, and detectives Munch and Tutuola will be taking over from here. Let me know when you get a visual on the subject. He was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a blue baseball cap and a dark blue shirt. Again, do not approach the subject until he breaks parole.'

With that he put the car in gear and drove off. Olivia was checking all her pockets, collecting all the coins she had for her coffee. In the end she just turned over her jacket and all her stuff came falling out onto the dashboard.

'What, lost your badge again?' Elliot joked.

'Very funny, Old Man.' She said slowly, taunting him.

Elliot frowned, he still hadn't gotten over the fact that this kid called him old, even though it had been over a week ago. Olivia reminded him of it all the time, and now, magically, the whole squad seemed to know about it too. Luckily, the story made her look like a fool as well.

'How old do you think he was?' She was talking about the kid of course, Elliot knew.

'About eleven, maybe younger...' she continued, thinking out loud.

'You know, part of me wants to give that kid a slap around the head for being rude and the other part wants to pin a medal on him for making two detectives look like idiots.' Elliot laughed. Olivia looked at his expression and smiled. He really was good with kids.

'I just wanna make sure he's okay' she replied, 'He didn't seem okay...'

All of a sudden Elliot turned towards her, 'You know, you'd make a great mom.'

She quickly looked away, 'O my God, I'm not having this conversation.'

'You're great with kids!'

'Yeah, I know...' How long was this talk gonna go on, she thought.

It was quiet for a while, then he said 'Look, maybe you should start thinking about having kids and any way you wanna do it, I'd support you...' Anything? Her mind wandered for a second...

'Elliot, do me a favor.'

'What?'

'Shut up and drive.' And her mind was right back where it should be.

When they stopped at a place for coffee, Olivia got out.

'What do you want?' She asked her partner.

'Double macchiato with extra foam and those colorful sprinkles, please.'

She leaned on the door, looking at him incredulously.

'Coffee, Liv, regular black coffee.'

'Idiot...' she mumbled, but with a tiny smile at the corner of her mouth.

The coffee place was as shabby as could be expected in this part of town, but strangely enough, Olivia liked it this way. A fat man sat behind the counter, reading some magazine. He didn't seem to notice her coming in. He did, however, look up when a kid came walking in.

'You again?' he yelled, 'O no no no.. Out! GET OUT! '

Olivia watched as the child quickly put something in his pockets, yelled: 'Whatever dude...' and ran for the door.

'Hey, you little thief!'

The fat guy jumped over the counter with unexpected speed and tried to grab him. Olivia was faster though. She blocked the exit and grabbed the kid around its waist as he tried to jump out of the way. Then he really went crazy, screaming like someone was trying to kill him.

'Get off, GET OFF ME!' Olivia had a hard time keeping hold of him, so she grabbed the black sweater he was wearing. Then, for half a second, he stopped struggling, and before she knew it, she only had the sweater in her hands.

'Got ya!' It hadn't helped the kid much. The man held onto his hair and raised his hand to slap the child. Olivia reacted too late and the boy went flying through the store.

'Sir, don't!' She told the owner. He backed off, still furious.

Once again the detective tried to hold a wriggling child in place.

'Hey, you want me to put you in cuffs?' She had had enough of this bullshit. 'Just.. stand still, no one is gonna hurt you.'

The kid scoffed, but he didn't run away. Olivia looked at him. Dark brown eyes looked at her.

'Well, hello. Again.'

He wore torn jeans, black boots that were too big and an old grey shirt with too many holes in it to count. Under the hoody he had apparently also worn a baseball cap. It casted a shadow over half of his face.

'I won't hurt you,' She said as she came closer, 'I promise.' Gently she took of his cap.

For the first time she could really make out the face. And it was unmistakably that of a girl. Also, the massive amount of dark curls that came flowing out from under the hat were a hint.

'Hello? Are you gonna arrest this rat or not, lady?' The owner became inpatient. 'It's not like this is the first time she pulls a stunt like this...'

He rattled on but Olivia didn't listen. The cut on her lip had healed, there was just a little scar. But one eye was a beautiful shade of green. She seemed so young and vulnerable. But she kept staring at Olivia, straight into her eyes, fearless. It was almost impossible to look away.

'LADY!' She broke away from her gaze to look at the fat guy. 'Nevermind, you police people are all the same. Useless bureaucrats... You, kid, you're not going anywhere! I'll deal with you myself!'

Olivia felt herself getting angry: 'Yes, Sir, you wanna report a theft? Let's do that. You'll have to come with me to the precinct, of course, for your statement. I'll make sure they'll get to hear of you assaulting this little girl as well!'

'You're gonna arrest me for slugging a streetrat?' He just laughed at her. 'You gotta be kidding me, woman...'

'It's okay,' both adults spun around, looking at the girl, 'I'll just go.' She emptied her pockets and threw the stolen candy on the ground. Then she started to make her way out.

'You better not touch her again, buddy!' Olivia yelled as she pushed the door open.

'That kid better not try to rob me again!'

For the third time that day Olivia had to keep the girl from running off.

'You gotta be kidding me?' She asked, looking bored almost as Olivia cut her off, again. 'What do ya want? I gave him the candy back.'

'What do you think I am,' Olivia smirked, 'Dumb?'

'You really want me to answer that after that thing with your badge?'

'You're a smartass, aren't you...' Olivia bend over so that their faces were only a few inches apart and spoke loudly. 'I saw you nicking the candy, you put in the pocket of your hoody. The candy you threw on the ground in the store came from your jeans.'

The girl rolled her eyes 'Well aren't you the brilliant detective...'

'Listen, pipe down with the attitude, sweetheart,' Olivia said sternly, 'That means you have quite the habit of stealing. And pickpocketing.' She added.

'Don't bother lecturing me, are you gonna arrest me or not?'

'Just tell me your name, and I'll bring you home, have a talk with your mother.' Olivia hoped this would scare the kid into some manners at least. She also hoped to see where this girl lived, maybe find out who had been beating her like that. It didn't seem to affect her at all though. She just kept quiet. Then Elliot came walking up.

'Liv? Coffee?'

'Just caught her shoplifting.' She eyed the little girl, who held her head up high looking at him.

'Hey,' she said with indignation, 'I never did nothing you can prove.'

'I saw you stea-... Aww nevermind.' Olivia felt herself getting annoyed. 'Just tell me your name, will ya?'

Elliot leaned into Olivia, 'Is this who I think it is?'

'Have you ever met another kid with that kind of attitude?' Olivia whispered back

'I am still here you know...' The girl was starting to get anxious.

Elliot looked at her. 'You now what, I've had enough of this.' He put his strict father-face on. 'You wanna play us, not answer our questions, whatever. You can do it all at the precinct.'

He grabbed her arm and dragged her to their car.

**Let me know what you think!**


	4. Vigilance

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 4: Vigilance

Everyone at the 16th precinct looked up from their work when detectives Stabler and Benson marched a handcuffed hoody in. Because that is what she looked like in her oversized sweater: really tiny, with clothes that were too big for her and a lot of uncombed hair.

Captain Cragen came walking out of his office. 'Are those really necessary?' he asked, pointing at the handcuffs.

'They are..' Elliot grumbled, 'trust me, they are.'

The girl put on her sweetest smile and looked up at the Captain. 'They're scared I might rob them again.'

Fin looked up. 'Could this be...'

'...the kid we've heard so much about?' Munch finished his sentence. 'The infamous thief, the one who made a mockery of the long arm of the law, this child of...'

'MUNCH, SHUT UP!' both Elliot and Olivia yelled at him.

The little girl smirked and they put her in an interrogation room. Cragen demanded them into his office shortly after that for an explanation.

'So, she didn't commit a crime?' Their captain tried desperately to understand the situation. 'She wasn't violent...' And at the same time he tried not to lose his temper with his two detectives. 'She's the victim?'

'Yes, well...' Olivia felt like a kid who had gotten into trouble. 'We caught her shoplifting, and she turned out to be quite a handful. She kept running away and... making smart comments.'

'But the owner didn't press charges. You wanna arrest her for stealing?'

'No!' Olivia said quickly, 'No, we just maybe wanna scare her a little bit with it.'

'But why would you want to scare a possible abuse victim?' He asked, even more confused.

'Captain,' Elliot cut in, 'She doesn't want to tell us her name, where she's from, her age, anything! She looks like an eight year old that gets beaten daily, but has the attitude of a twenty year old that rules the world! She's just... difficult.'

'Alright,' Cragen shrugged, 'Talk to her. I'll get Child Protective Services to come over.'

She was glad they put the cuffs off. They'd even put her in the room for kids, the one filled with toys and stuffed animals. She understood it was supposed to calm children down, but it didn't. Not her, anyways. It just made her feel empty inside.

'This kid looks beat.' Munch commented, while looking through the glass.

'Living rough?' Fin asked Olivia.

'Maybe, we don't know anything about her.'

Elliot and Olivia both went inside and the girl sat up immediatly, taking on her usual confident posture. Olivia sat down opposite her, Elliot leaned up against the wall. They were all just quiet for a while, staring at each other.

Olivia began talking to her in a calm voice. 'Sweetie, we just need your name. We won't send you home if you don't want to, or if someone has been hurting you there. You won't get into trouble. Just help us out here... What's your name?'

The girl was shaking her head, grinning sarcastically.

'How did you get that black eye?' Elliot pointed at her left eye.

'Walked into a door...'

'Must have been a pretty big door.'

'O yes... huge.'

'Where'd you get your lip cut?' He wanted to know next.

'Walked into a door, like I said.'

'O, the same door?'

'Yeah, same door, different day.'

'Really? That is a coincidence.'

'Sure is...' She nodded her head slowly while looking at the detective.

'Where'd you get that cut on your knee?' he asked quickly, never looking away.

'O that? I tripped.'

'No door?' Elliot asked her, innocently smiling.

'Well, now that you mention it, I did trip as I was coming out of that same door...'

Elliot walked towards her. 'You know you could be in a lot of trouble: Obstruction in the course of justice. Theft, twice! Opposing a police officer... You want me to go on?'

'Nope, I think that was about it for today...' she answered him.

He slammed one hand on the table and loomed over her. 'Quit. Playing. Games.' His eyes were dark.

But her eyes were even darker as she never once looked away. 'If you plan on beating me, just get it over with.' She waited a bit, then sharply added, 'Sir.'

Elliot fell back, genuinely shocked. He got up and left the room in a hurry. Olivia followed him, after she promised the girl she'd be right back.

'El, hey, are you okay?' She asked him outside.

'This girl...' he stuttered, 'She honestly thought I was gonna beat her. She didn't just say that to seem tough. She was ready for my fists. But I would never...'

'It's true.' They both turned around and saw Dr. Huang standing there. He had watched their interview. 'She's not intimidated by you. I think violence is what she's come to expect.'

'So what do we do, Doc?'

'Olivia should go in and talk to her. Ask her about things she does want to talk about. She clearly doesn't want to give her name or tell you about the abuse, but maybe she'll tell you something else. Make her feel safe, as far as possible, but don't let her play you!'

'Okay, I'll try' Olivia walked back in with absolutely no idea on how she should handle this. In all her years on the job she'd never met a child like this one. Once again she opened the door, went in and sat down in front of the girl.

From her pocket she produced a small pack of winegums. 'I figured you might like these, because...'

'Because those are the ones I tried to steal, yeah.' She quickly started eating the candy.

'Why were you stealing?' No reply.

Olivia watched as she ate the winegums just a little bit too fast. 'Are you hungry?' No reply.

'Sweetie, I really do want to help you,' she leaned into the child, 'but you gotta give me something here. What school do you go to?'

Still no reply.

'Come on! You had such a big mouth out on the streets, what's happened to that?' Olivia half smiled at her, daring her to speak.

The child sighed dramatically. 'Fine, get me a coke, and maybe I'll answer one question.'

'Maybe? No, that's not gonna happen, sweetheart. How about you answer one question now, and then I'll get you your soda.'

'If it's a short question.'

'Deal.'

'Shoot.' The girl sat back, waiting.

'How old are you?'

'About ten I guess...'

'You guess?'

'Yeah, ten!' she repeated impatiently, 'My coke?'

'Sure, one coca-cola coming up.' Olivia smiled at her and left the room.

Outside she joined Dr. Huang and Elliot.

'She doesn't remember? That convenient...' Eliot said.

'Maybe she really doesn't know for sure. She shows all the signs of a seriously neglected child. They don't often get thrown birthday parties.'

'I'll go get her that soda.'

The doctor was fascinated by her. 'Let's see what she does when she has to wait...'

They stood there for about five minutes. Fin and Munch, who had gotten curious about this girl as well, had joined them.

'She'll probably start singing again.' Suprised they all looked at Munch. 'Look, her mouth is moving a bit. She did it when you first put her in here, singing to herself. I put the sound on to listen for a while. She's actually really good...'

Olivia had just come back with two soda's.

'A tough tomboy from the streets is singing?' Fin just couldn't believe it.

Dr. Huang smiled, 'I think it probably calms her, and besides, she only acts like a tough tomboy from the streets. Underneath it all she's a girl who is just ten years old... she guesses...'

As soon as Olivia walked back in again, her face grew cautious and she sat up straight. She drank her soda in silence. Never once letting Olivia out of her sight.

All of a sudden she said to Olivia, 'You're not gonna just let me walk out of here, are you. You're gonna try to find my family: well let me tell you, you won't find any. Then you're gonna try and get me to talk about where I live, who I am, whatever: that won't happen either. So then you're gonna hand me over to Child Protective Services: which is fine, you can do that, but you know I'll run away again in a second. Or you're gonna let me sit here until I tell you my name, and then you're gonna hand me over.'

Olivia was just baffled by this child's understanding of the situation. She couldn't bring herself to say a word.

'Well you waiting here is pointless, so if you need a name, my name's Elizabeth Matthews.'

'No, it's not,' Dr. Huang whispered on the other side of the glass. Elliot looked at him. 'She's just making that up because she understands the situation is futile and she's just looking for a way to get out.' He couldn't help but smile.

'Thank you,' Olivia said to her, 'Do you want another coke, while we wait for a social worker, you really seem to like those.'

'Yeah... I don't get them very often...'

'Why's that?'

'The cans don't fit into my pocket.' The girl flashed her a cheeky grin.

Olivia decided it was best just to pretend she never heard that.

**All the reviews make me so happy: please, let me know what you think!**


	5. Confessions and guns

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 5: Confessions and guns.

It was the night after ASC, the Administration of Children's Services, had taken 'Elizabeth' away. Of course her name didn't come up when they searched it in their database. Surprise, surprise, Olivia thought.

It was past midnight, but she was still burried in paperwork. Thinking about that little girl didn't help either. She hadn't complained when Mrs. Lane, from ACS, took her away. She did look back though, when she was being led away by yet another cold adult, just for a second, she looked back at Olivia. Or maybe she'd imagined that, Olivia didn't know anymore. It was late and everything was a blur. A blur with big brown eyes...

'Liv!' Fin practically screamed. Olivia jumped up and rubbed her eyes.

'Are you okay, girl?'

'Yeah.. yep, I'm fine.' She said quickly. She didn't feel like explaining.

Elliot had just walked in as well, carrying a stack of papers and dossiers. With a loud thud he dumped it all on his desk. Olivia looked at them all with despair in her eyes. 'Don't worry,' he told her, gently, 'Tomorrow..'

Fin turned to her again. 'Just had ASC on the line, about your kid...'

'She's not mine,' she mumbled absent-mindedly...

Fin continued. 'She did a runner. That girl is back on the streets of New York City, on her own.'

Olivia got up immediately. 'I gotta find her.'

'Liv,' Elliot pleaded, 'you'll never find her this late.'

'Elliot, there's a ten year old alone on the streets at night!'

'Yeah, and there are about a hundred more like her...'

She scoffed in protest.

'Listen,' Fin aided Elliot, 'by the looks of that girl, it won't be her first night out. She'll be fine. That baby girl is about as street smart as they come.'

That made her smile, but she felt sad inside too. 'Yeah, but still a baby girl...'

'Go home,' Elliot walked over to her and held her shoulder, 'We'll go and talk to this Mrs. Lane in the morning and try to find her then. Okay? Don't beat yourself up about this, Liv. Please..'

The next morning they went straight to the home where they'd taken her. It took Elliot quite a bit of convincing the Captain, but in the end he let them go. He'd seen that look in Olivia's eyes before, there was just no stopping her.

All the people working at the home said the same thing. 'Who?' they'd all asked, when they'd mentioned the name of Elizabeth Matthews, and when they described her attitude, 'O, thát girl...'. They couldn't really tell them something that was of any help.

On their way out a little girl came running after them. 'Wait!' As soon as they turned around to face her, she grew shy again, stumbling back.

'It's okay, honey,' Olivia knelt down to her level. She was around six years old, holding on to her stuffed animal for dear life.

'You're police, right?' She asked carefully, 'And you're looking for Lizzie...'

'That right,' Elliot smiled at her, 'How did you know that?'

'One of the big boys told me...' Her face turned red.

'That's okay, sweetheart. Yes, we're looking for her, do you know where she is?'

'No...' Her lip began to tremble, 'but I miss her. She was really sweet. She sang me a song when I couldn't sleep.'

'That's nice,' Elliot knelt down as well, 'what did she sing?'

'About a white horse, a-and snow, a-and pretty girls in blue dresses, and a fairy queen!'

'What else did she say?'

A twinkling grew in the little blonde's eyes. 'It's a seeeecret.' she whispered.

'Really?' Elliot leaned in, his eyes twinkling as well, 'I love those.'

Her smile grew even bigger, 'You must never tell anyone, scout's honour!'

Both Elliot and Olivia crossed their hearts and held up two fingers, with serious faces. 'We promise'

'Okay,' She leaned closer to them, 'Lizzie isn't her real name...' Her eyes grew bigger and bigger. 'She said she had to go, I didn't want her to, but she said she had a package to deliver. Something she had to do every wednesday. It was like her job...'

'Who did she work for?'

'Dunno... But she said he'd get real mad if she didn't do it on time... She said he'd yell at her in Italian.' The little girl giggled, 'She said he was ugly and his hair was fake.'

'What's your name?' Olivia wanted to know.

'Brooke.'

'Well, Brooke, you've been a great help to us. We'll try to make sure Lizzie is okay.'

'Thank you!' the girl yelled as she ran back inside.

As they rose to their feet the exchanged a quick glance.

'Delivering a package every wednesday for an Italian man, probably in Hell's kitchen,' Elliot summed up, 'I'm guessing it's drugs.'

'Or drug money.' Olivia added.

'Let's ask Fin if he knows of anything that sounds like this...'

Back at the precinct, Fin did recognize the story.

'Yeah, we've had a number of cases like that. A big Italian guy, who let kids make deliveries for him. In Hell's Kitchen, yeah. We've never been able to get to him.'

Cragen had joined them. 'Well, if he is using kids, it falls under our jurisdiction. Fin look into it, dig up the old files.'

'Olivia?' A police officer came walking in. Olivia turned to him. 'There's a little girl asking for you outside. She doesn't want to come in though.'

'Why not? It's freezing out.'

'She says Elliot'll probably lock her up again.' He shifted uncomfortably, looking at Elliot.

'What did this girl look like?'

'White, dark eyes and hair... she looked like hell to be honest.'

Olivia looked at Elliot, then at Cragen.

'Just please, Captain, just let me talk to her. I mean, she has come to me now, on her own! That's gotta mean something good.'

'I won't touch her, I promise' Elliot said quickly. Olivia smiled and mouthed a 'thanks' to him.

'Talk to her. I never knew she was here.' With that Cragen walked back into his office, closed the door and let down the blinds in front of the glass. The detectives couldn't help but smile at the old mans gesture.

Then the little girl came walking in, carefully eyeing everyone in the squadroom. Olivia walked up to her. 'Hey, how are you doing?' She was so scared to do something wrong or say something that would make the girl run again.

She just shrugged.

'Why don't you sit down over here,' Olivia led her to her desk, 'And then I'll get you another coke.'

Spinning the chair round and round, she waited for Olivia to get back. She smiled when she saw the girl acting like that. At least she sorta acts like a child from time to time..

'So, what can I do for you today?' She put down the soda on her desk and leaned onto it.

'I've come with a proposition.' The little girl really did sound like a businessman, or even worse, a lawyer. Olivia tried to hide the smile forming on her face by looking down.

'Okay, what do you want? I assume, you'll be wanting something.' Olivia replied, innocently.

'I want your gun.'

'You what?' She almost spit out her soda.

The girl tried not to laugh at her, but kinda failed. 'I don't want to háve it... Just hold it, see it, and I want you to show me how it works. The parts and stuff...'

'Now why would I let a ten year old even near my gun.' Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'Because I'll make you an offer you can't refuse.' She stated matter-of-factly.

Elliot and all the other detectives had followed the conversation closely. Alex stood behind Elliot and whispered, 'Should I be worried? This kid's better at my job than I am...' Elliot grinned.

'Alright,' Olivia put down her soda. 'What ya got?'

'I'll tell you who I am.'

No one saw that one coming.

'My name, you people really seem to wanna know my name.'

'We do...' Olivia blinked, 'So, what is it?'

'What do you think I am?' The girl mimicked Olivia from before, 'Dumb?'

Laughing, the detective looked down. 'Okay, I'll show you how my gun works. YOU, on the other hand, are not touching it.' The girl sighed. 'And you gotta promise me to tell me who you are, right?'

'Right.' Business, pure business.

'Deal?' Olivia offered her hand.

She shook it. 'Deal.'

A thousand questions later about all guns ever invented, Olivia put away her gun again.

'At least she's talking about something now.' Munch said, as he and Fin were doing the dreaded paperwork.

'Spill.' Olivia demanded, but her eyes smiling.

The little girl got serious at once. For a few minutes she'd just been a kid, curious about everything, but now she looked like an adult again.

'I'm no one.' She said in a small voice.

Olivia narrowed her eyes. 'How do you mean?'

'I mean I don't exist. I was never registered at birth, never been to school or adopted or anything. I have no papers, no insurance, no social security number. I don't know when I was born, or who my parents are. I don't even remember my last name...'

Olivia felt as if the air had just gotten knocked out of her lungs. She couldn't breath. The entire squadroom seemed to fade away. Here she was, this gorgeous little girl, telling her in a stone cold way, that she was no one. That she didn't exist...

'What's your name, your first name?' Olivia was trying really hard not to get emotional.

'Hannah.'

'Then you do exist, Hannah...'

She looked up and Olivia could see the confusion in her eyes. 'I gotta go.' Hannah said quickly. 'You promised you'd let me go.' Panic shot through her.

'Yes, sweetie, you can go. But just know you can always come back, okay? I'll be here.'

But the girl was already running out.

**Tell me what you think! :D**


	6. Disobedience

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 6: Disobedience

'Sister Peg, can I ask you something?' Olivia walked up to her van. She had just gotten back from the gym and had planned on going home, only to end up here.

'Looking for someone again?' She replied, smiling.

'As a matter of fact, I am, but not someone you deal with every day.'

'You're not looking for a sexworker?' Sister Peg had a habit of avoiding the words 'hooker' or 'pro' with care.

'Nope, not someone looking for a clean needle either,' mumbling to herself Olivia added, 'at least, I hope not...'

'But I thought maybe you've heard of her or seen her. It's a little girl I'm looking for. She's about ten years old and I think she spends a lot of time on the streets. Dark hair, big attitude. Her name's...'

'Hannah.' Sister Peg finished for her.

'Yeah!' Olivia's eyes grew big with excitement. 'You know her?'

'Yeah, I could never forget a pretty girl with a gorgeous name!' The nun said, 'a pretty girl living in filth...I don't know much about her. She never talks to people for too long, I know she's absolutely scared to death of being locked up or of being taken to a home. A lot of people around town know her. Some like her, help her a little bit, some hate her. She's quite the Artful Dodger...'

'Yeah... I- I've noticed that.' Olivia quickly looked down.

Sister Peg noticed and suppressed a smile.

'Do you know where she's from? She must have had parents at some point or been in care..'

'I don't know... I remember seeing her for the first time a few years back, when she was around six years old. Even back then she was pickpocketing. Living rough for sure.' She sighed, 'I'm sorry, can't be of much help.'

'That's okay, Sister Peg. I just wanna make sure she's okay.'

'She's not, Olivia.'

'I know...' the detective whispered. It hurt her to say that. She turned around to walk away.

'You know, you should check out the hotel at the corner of 9th Avenue and 15th street. When it gets below zero at night she sometimes sleeps inside, or so some of my girls say.'

Olivia nodded and waved a thanks as she rounded the corner.

'The corner of 9th and 15th...?' Olivia repeated. O my God, that's a crackhouse for junkies and prostitutes, she remembered. What in the hell was a child doing in there? Keeping warm of course, trying her best not to freeze to death out on the streets. She could almost feel her heart hurting for this girl.

During their break, Olivia walked up to Fin.

'I need a favour.'

'Let me guess, it's about your kid.' It was as if he had been waiting for her to ask him something like that.

'She not mine!' Olivia felt she was saying that for the tenth time this week.

'She practically is.' Elliot chimed in as he walked by.

'Whatever.. Anyways, you know this hotel on the corner of 9th and 15th street? I remember it being a hell hole.'

'It is.' Fin's expression grew dark. 'What do you want there? It's a dump hookers use to shoot up. They call it the Devil's Paradise.'

Olivia ran her hands though her hair. 'Shit...'

'Why?'

Olivia started walking away towards the coffee machine.

'Why?!' Fin called after her, 'Please don't tell me that's where your girl's holding up.'

Right at that moment Cragen walked in. He spun around, looking really angry. 'What? Olivia!' She stopped in her tracks. 'Detective Tutuola, repeat what you just said!' Not knowing how to save her out of this one, he looked to Olivia. 'That's it,' Cragen spat, 'Olivia, my office. Now!'

Like a kid about to get punished she follow her Captain into his office. He didn't waste any time.

'Maybe I didn't make myself clear the first time. This girl, how much you might feel sorry for her, is not a priority! We don't even have her name, she keeps running away and she's not involved in any criminal activities that we have proof of right now. Now we will look into it when it comes up again, but you, detective Benson, are not going after this of your own accord. Is that understood?'

Olivia was silent and looked away. They did have a conversation like this one, about a week ago, when Hannah came in to talk to her. They had assessed the situation as a team and had decided there was not enough to go on for a case against this drug lord. Especially because Hannah was their only lead, and they only knew this from the story of a six year old, and Olivia didn't want to lock her up again.

'Is that understood?' He repeated, raising his voice.

'I just think she's in real danger out there, Captain.' Olivia repleid carefully.

'I agree! But we can't put that much manpower on finding one little girl.' Cragen tried to remember if he'd ever had a detective before as stubborn as this one. Apart from Elliot maybe.

She had started to lose her temper. 'She's been sleeping in a whorehouse filled with junkies! She wanders the streets all day, has never even been to a school and gets beaten on a regular basis. She's the perfect target for all pedofiles, drug lords or killers, because no one will ever miss her!'

'You will.' She tried to say something, she really did, but no words came out. Hell, she knew it was true.

'What is it with you and this girl?' She couldn't even look her Captain in the eye.

'I just... I...'

Then the phone rang and Cragen was forced to pick up. Olivia thanked the heavens above she didn't have to answer his question anymore. She knew what it was with her and this girl. She remembered.

_Fourteen year old Olivia walked the school halls, headphones blearing. All around her were small groups of friends forming in front of lockers, but Olivia wouldn't join any of them. It was safer to be alone. Then a girl jumped in front of her and janked the headphones off of her. _

_'What'd you do that for?' Olivia yelled. _

_'You're a freak.' O right, Olivia though, that gave blondes the right apparently._

_'No, I'm sorry Olivia,' Sugar dripped from the girl's voice, 'I just wanted to ask you something.' A wall of cheerleaders formed behind the blonde._

_'Why don't you have any friends?'_

_Olivia put her headphones back on quickly. _

_'Why don't you have a father?'_

_They wouldn't get out of the way. Olivia tried desperately to push passed them. _

_'I heard your mother doesn't even want you.' _

_Something inside Olivia snapped as the entire hallway began to laugh at her. She pushed the girl hard and she crashed into her locker. _

_'You, bitch!' The blonde spat, 'You know why no one wants you.'_

_Olivia ran, ran for the door, she just needed to get out of there. _

_'Because you are no one, Olivia Benson!'_

'Olivia!' Cragen woke her up.

'Yeah? Yes, Sir.'

Cragen was worried, but he didn't want it to show. 'Understand this, Olivia, normally I'd take you off the case. You're too emotional involved in this one.'

'I'm emotionally involved in all my cases, captain.'

He shook his head. 'I'll give you another shot, but don't do anything behind my back again! If you find something on this girl, you tell me. Or else, you're done.'

'I will.' Olivia promised. 'I will...'

'The officers at the 13th precinct have your girl. An adult has to come to pick her up and she mentioned your name. You go and see what's that all about and get her out.'

'Thank you, Captain.'

She opened the door when Cragen asked her, 'By the way, what's her name? Her real one, I might add.'

Olivia smiled.

'Hannah.'

**Thank you all so much for the reviews, you have no idea how happy they make me. **


	7. A Yankees fan

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 7: A Yankees fan

In the south of Midtown Manhattan, snow was piling up outside the doors of the NYPD 13th precinct police station. It was only november, but already this cold. Inside the officers were stamping their feet to get the feeling back and drank their coffee to warm up. Their desks stood close to the heaters. The cells, on the other hand, were in the back. Dark and cold. Men sat there shivering, waiting for someone to pick them up, or waiting to be interrogated. In the corner sat a little girl, her hoody pulled over her knees,arms pulled inside and her head resting on her legs. Huddled into a small ball she tried to keep warm, but failed miserably.

Detective Benson walked through the snow and pushed through the door of the police station.

'I'm looking for a little girl,' Olivia said to one of the officers, 'I've come to pick her up.'

'Name?' He looked bored and didn't even bother to look up.

Olivia panicked for a second inside. What should she say? She probably didn't say Hannah, she'd never give her real name to some cops. Elizabeth? Maybe she gave a different name each time...

'How many little girls can you possibly have in here?' She put on her angry detective voice, praying to God it'd work.

Still, he ignored her. He was just flipping through the pages of his magazine.

'Listen, buddy,' she started to feel angry for real now, 'will you leave your porn for a second and listen to me?' She flashed her badge and the officer quickly shoved aside the magazine. 'This girl's an important witness in a case of mine. So you tell me right now where I can find her.' She had leaned over him while saying all this, and he could feel her breath on his face: furious and hot.

'This way, Detective. I'll show you to the officers who picked her up.'

Yeah, you do that, Olivia thought, annoyed.

Two very intelligent-looking young men sat at a desk. One with his feet up on the table, the other reading the papers.

'Well, where is she?' She was getting tired of this.

'O you've come to take her. Thank God...', one said without looking at her.

Rolling her eyes Olivia said, 'Take me to the room you have for the children.'

The other officer stood up, put down his papers and motioned for her to follow him. 'Our children's space is to the left, but she's not in there.' He took a turn to the right.

'Why?' Olivia had a bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. 'Tell me you didn't put her in a holding cell!'

The officer took the keys out of his pockets and opened the first door that did lead to the cell blocks. 'We did,' he was actually confident about it, 'That kid has a mouth on her like the devil's mother. She needed to be taught a lesson.'

Olivia was this close to slapping the man across the room. 'She is a ten year old girl! You can not put her in a cell with a bunch of criminals, not even mentioning locking up a child!' She shouted.

The officer stopped, 'We have had problems with this child so many times before. She steals, she lies and has no respect for any authority whatsoever. We're forced to spend hours chasing after her in the city.'

'She. Is. Ten.' Olivia hissed.

'She is also a pain in the ass. Someone needed to scare her straight.' With a shock Olivia realised that that had been exactly what she and Elliot had been doing: trying to scare her into talking and doing what they wanted. No wonder Hannah had resisted.

'Someone needs to help her.'

'Why? The only future that kid has is a life of crime.'

Olivia scoffed impatiently, 'Just shut your damn mouth and take me to her.'

The small figure was hard to make out in the dark. It took Olivia a while, but she spotted her.

'Hannah? Come on.' She said through the bars, as the officer was opening up the door. She didn't move though.

'How dare you,' one of the men on the bench said, 'how dare you lock up a kid. She's almost blue, so cold. What could a baby like that have done to you, you tough police guy huh.' The officer pushed him back down on the bench roughly.

Olivia went inside the cell and knelt down.

'Hannah, baby, we're gonna go now, okay?' She took the jacket off of the little girl and gave it back to the owner: the man who had spoken up for her. 'You better take care of her.' He warned her.

'I will.' Olivia said as she picked the girl up. She really was stone cold. How many hours has she sat on the floor in there, Olivia wondered.

Suddenly the child stirred in her arms and Hannah put her arms around Liv's neck and her legs around her waist, her head still resting on her shoulder.

On her way out the officer ran after her. 'Hey, Detective, you gotta sign a form for her release!'

Olivia shoved him out of the way as she passed by. 'The only thing I'll be signing is a formal complaint against you and your partner for assault and neglect of suspects.'

That shut him up just fine.

Olivia started to worry as she walked down the streets of New York. It didn't feel natural to have Hannah not resisting or making some smart-ass comment.

'Honey, you gotta talk to me. Are you okay?'

'Yeah... I'm just sleepy...' Olivia felt her getting heavy.

'No, no,' she said, shaking her, 'you have to stay awake. Talk to me about something. Tell me about anything.'

'What am I gonna talk to you about? I'm a thief and you're a cop...I ain't telling you nothing. ' Olivia felt relieved actually that she still had her sarcasm, even though it was barely a whisper. This girl was a fighter alright.

Quickly hailing a cab, Olivia directed the driver to their headquarters, 16th precinct.

When Olivia walked in with Hannah on her hip, it turned a lot of heads.

'What happened?' Elliot could see the concern on his partner's face.

'I'm afraid she'll get hypothermia. We need to warm her up.' Olivia walked up the stairs to the lounge part of the squadroom.

'Can't believe that was the same girl who gave us all that talk before. She looked like a baby.' Fin said as he watched Olivia taking Hannah up.

But Hannah didn't feel like being babied, even though she was so drowsy. 'I just wanna sleep, just let me sleep or let me go...' She fell down to the side.

Elliot caught her quickly and they put her in a couple of blankets.

'You can't sleep now, sweetheart, but you can sleep later, in here. Elliot, go get her some tea.' Olivia ordered.

'I need to ask you some questions. And you need to stay awake, so talking is good.'

'That's just a bad excuse to get me to talk.' Hannah sarcastically lifted one eyebrow.

'It is...' Olivia admitted, 'but I really wanna talk to you.'

'Fine. Interrogate me.'

'We don't have to talk about stuff you don't want to talk about.' Olivia tried to get eyecontact with her, but she kept drifting off. She had to hold on to her. 'You know when I was about ten, I was a real tomboy. I hated dresses and all that, but I really liked sports. You ever play anything?'

'Yeah, su-sure...' Hannah had started to shiver like crazy, which was a good sign. At least her body was trying to warm her up.

'What do you play?'

'We shoot hoops at the church. Father Michael teaches us, he's kinda cool. Sometimes I play with older boys, if they let me...'

'Yeah, where's that? The older boys.'

'You know, just around town...' She still didn't plan on giving away to much about the places where she stayed. Olivia picked up on that.

Elliot handed her her tea and she looked at him suspiciously. Because she was shivering, she had to take care not to spill half of her tea. It took her half a minute to get the cup even near her mouth like that.

'Fuck it.' She said, putting away the tea. 'Can't even hold this fucking thing.'

With an amused look on her face, Olivia told her she had to drink it anyways, 'You really need to get warm, tea is the quickest way... You like baseball? Yankees?' Olivia said, pointing to her baseball cap. Hannah picked it up and put it on backwards.

'Yeah,' She had started sipping her tea slowly, 'I play stickball a lot.'

'You any good?' Startled, Hannah looked up at Elliot, who had suddenly spoken to her.

'Am I any good?' she repeated arrogantly, 'I got mad skills, over the backfielders every. single. time, dude!'

'O, really?' Olivia laughed.

'Yep.'

Olivia felt the little body she was holding warming up. She had started to talk more too. She would be fine now.

'You wanna sleep now, sweetie?'

'Yeah,' Hannah stood up and threw the blankets off of her. 'I guess I'll go then.' She'd already started making her way out.

'Wow, wait a second.' Olivia grabbed her hand. 'You don't have to go, I'm not gonna let you sleep outside now!'

Hannah got all defensive 'Who says I'm sleeping rough!'

'Just... Just stay here.' Olivia pleaded with her, 'Let me make it up to you. We'll go out and get something to eat, okay? As soon as you wake up.'

'Don't let that man put cuffs on me again!' She pointed towards Elliot downstairs. 'Do not call ACS while I'm asleep! And don't...' Her voice trailed off.

Olivia moved over so that she had a place on the couch to lay down. She curled up and seemed to disappear.

'Don't what?' She asked the girl, as she put the blankets back over her. But Olivia figured what she meant.

'Do you want me to stay with you for a while?'

It was almost impossible to see, but Hannah nodded.

'I'll stay here and I'll still be here when you wake up.' Gently she took off Hannah's hat and put it on the table.

She smiled to herself. A Yankees fan...

**Still liking it? :) xx**


	8. Trouble

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 8: Trouble

'Olivia!' Cragen called out as he ran up the stairs.

'Shhhh!'

'You can't just sit here like some babysitter, you know,' her Captain whispered, 'And don't shush me like that!' He added, a lot louder.

'I'm sorry, it's just that it took ages for her to sleep this soundly. She kept waking up with every sound.'

'Kid's been living on the streets for too long.'

Olivia gently stroked Hannah's hair, then quickly drew back her hand. It was filthy just from the touch. No wonder, Hannah herself was about ten shades darker from streetfilth.

'Also, the kid needs a bath.' Cragen added.

'Captain, would it be okay if I got my paperwork and did it up here? It needs to be done anyways and I promised her I'd be here when she wakes up.'

Cragen agreed and went back down. 'I'll get Elliot to take up your files.' He'll love that, Olivia thought.

A lot of files later, even though the stack didn't appear smaller, Hannah started to move in her sleep. After a while her movements became more violent and she started to call out to an invisible intruder. Distress was written all over her face and Olivia couldn't take it anymore, she had to wake her up from this nightmare.

Gently she tried to shake her, but it didn't help. 'Baby, wake up.' She shook her a little harder this time. Hannah tried to fend her off in her sleep.

'Hannah!'

All of a sudden her eyes snapped open and a scream escaped her mouth. While waking up she had grabbed Olivia's wrist and turned it away, her nails tearing into her skin. Eyes wide with fear stared into the Detective's.

'It's okay, hey sweetie, it's okay...' Olivia held her hand and Hannah slowly loosened her grip on Olivia's wrist. She sank back onto the couch and tried to bury her head in a blanket.

'I'm sorry, Olivia,' She sounded numb.

'Don't be. You just had a nightmare.'

'I know, get them a lot.' Hannah smiled apologetically at Olivia. 'Don't worry, I'm fine now.'

The stack of papers were in danger of falling of the table, so Olivia adjusted them.

'What's that?' Hannah wanted to know.

Olivia sighed, 'My job.'

'That sucks...'

Hannah took a file and opened it. 'What if I just throw this over the balcony here, then it's not your fault that you won't be able to hand it in.' She figured with a smirk.

'I'll be charged with contempt of court.' Olivia explained.

'By who?'

'The judge.'

'Just do what I do, tell 'm they can stick it...' Olivia held up a hand to stop her from finishing that sentence.

'I'd go to jail for sure for contempt and maybe for mockery of the Judge's authority as well... speaking of,' She said sternly, 'you need to at least pretend to be more respectful to officers. Not because they deserve it, trust me I've met them...' Hannah smiled,

'but because you're at an age where they could sentence you to juvi, with all the complaints and charges you are collecting at this rate.'

'That's exactly what I wanted t talk to both of you about.' They both looked up, startled, at Captain Cragen, who had joined them.

'Hannah, this is my boss, Captain Cragen.'

Hannah smirked at Olivia, 'Well, I guess that means that I'm not the only one in trouble.' Olivia didn't really know how to reply to that. She had been thinking the exact same thing.

Cragen adressed Olivia first. 'I've received a formal complaint of you taking this girl without signing a release form or making bail.'

'And Hannah, you are being charged with quite a few theft charges, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, assaulting a police officer, breaking and entering, criminal trespassing, harassment and loitering with intent.'

Olivia had to blink a few times. 'Captain, you can't be serious. She's a kid living rough!'

'Hey, I'm doing just fine.' Hannah grumbled, next to her.

'I'm afraid I am serious. These charges were filed by the same officers who made the complaint against you by the way. As for you, make bail, and you're done.'

'And what about Hannah? Besides, she's ten. You can't even face criminal charges under the age of eleven.'

'Unless we're dealing with serious charges, then she can be tried as a juvenile.' Cragen finished for her.

Hannah had grown awfully quiet and was staring at Olivia's shoes. The detective felt so bad for having her dragged into all this.

'Dont worry,' Cragen said to Hannah, 'these are not serious charges, most of them are bogus. These officers just really don't like you and your circumstances will help you get off.'

'Will I have to go to juvi?' She said in a small voice, 'I've heard about that, what it's like, and I've seen kids come back from it...'

'No, honey, that won't happen.' Olivia said quickly, but Cragen looked at her with concern.

'The thing is, Hannah,' Cragen tried to explain, 'we don't know how old you are, and from what I've heard, neither do you. Our ME can do a few tests on you, by looking at your bones and your teeth, and then she can determine your age down to the month. The situation is a lot more complicated if you are, for instance, already eleven. You understand?'

'Yeah. No... not really...' she sighed, 'Just send me to where-ever, it's all the same to me.' She slipped her feet back into her boots, that she had taken off to sleep.

Olivia felt she was starting to lose her. She grew more and more distant.

'But I just want to ask something,' Hannah said as she put on her hoody as well, 'all these tests and stuff, they'll give me a record, right? I'll be in a file.'

'Yes,' Olivia replied, 'why?'

'Yeah that's not gonna happen' In a flash she grabbed her cap off of the table and jumped like a cat over the balcony. With a loud crash she landed on top of one of the desks, then she dashed for the door. In all the commotion no one really know what happened, but Elliot, luckily, still had the state of mind to grab her as she ran down the hall. He tackled her to the ground and tried, sort of, to wrestle her down.

'GET THE FUCK OFF ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!' She yelled, while trying to slap, kick or even bite him to get loose. She fought like a wild animal.

'You know, a girl your age really shouldn't swear like that...' He said through clenched teeth, still trying to pin her down. He grabbed her wrists and tried to use his bodyweight on her whe , all of a sudden, she was able to free one hand from his grasp, and punched him once in the jaw, hard. His head flew back, from the impact but moslty from surprise.

She crawled away and sat with her back against the wall, panting.

'Ahh,' Elliot whimpered, 'That actually hurt.' He started to laugh and Hannah looked up in confusion.

'First time I've been punched in months, a punch worth remembering that is, and it's by a kid. Great.'

**To be continued... ^^**


	9. Invisible

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 9: Invisible

A few hours later Hannah was back in the interrogation room, trying to swat away a nurse who tried to examine her injuries, caused by her jumping off the balcony. She had a a large bump on her head and a cut in her neck from Elliot's badge, from when he had tried to wrestle her down.

Elliot sat next to her, also pushing away a medic. His jaw was turning purple and there was a bit of blood on his lip from where Hannah had punched him.

Olivia and Captain Cragen looked at them through the glass.

'Look at them,' Olivia said, mockingly, 'they're like two little kids after a fight on the playground.'

Cragen sighed and told the medics that they could leave.

'Neither is seriously injured, and the girl has so many bruises and scars, it's hard to even make out the new ones.' One of the medics told Olivia.

Olivia walked in with a pack of ice, and planted it, not so gently, on Elliot's jaw. He winced and Hannah raised her eyebrows, grinning.

Then Olivia turned to her, 'I'm just gonna talk to my Captain, okay? I'll be right back.'

Silent and awkward they were left together in that room.

'I'msorryaboutyourjaw...' She rattled quickly while looking to the ground.

'I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that.' Elliot joked.

Hannah glared daggers at him. 'You heard me, old man.' That remark had the exact effect she had hoped it would and she saw it on his face, with satisfaction.

Elliot decided he'd done enough damage and put his ego aside. 'Yeah, I heard you.' He smiled. 'I just wanted to tell you something, about the other day, when we were in this room as well.'

He could see her tensing up a little.

'I got really angry with you, and I shouldn't have.'

She nodded, but she didn't plan on letting him off that easy.

'So, why did you then?' Then quickly added, 'not that I care...'

He sighed and moved around a bit in his seat. The ice started to annoy him, so he put that on the table.

'I'm a father, and, uhm... I get worried about my kids a lot. They're teenagers, so they don't always tell me what's wrong and then I get angry, because I want to help them and they just push me away. You reminded me of that.' Elliot couldn't believe he was telling her all this. He just looked into those big brown eyes and the words just came out. This was weird.

'So...' Hannah tried to understand, 'You get angry because you want to help...?'

'Yeah, that's what parents do.' Elliot leaned his elbows on the table, and Hannah mimicked his position.

She seemed confused. 'If you say so...'

'I would never hurt you.' He looked her straight in the eye.

'Prove it.'

'I swear on my kids.' That really was the best promise he could think of. 'And, I'll make it up to you someday. You can hold me to that.' O God, what did I just say. He regretted it almost instantly.

'So, are we cool?' Elliot tried.

'I guess... at least you didn't cuff me this time. Speaking of, here you go.' From under the table she handed him his handcuffs. Elliot was absolutely baffled.

'How did you...' He drew down his eyebrows in confusion, 'When did you take them?'

'During our fight.' She stated matter-of-factly

'You have a talent, I'll give you that.'

On the other side of the wall, Olivia sat in Cragen's office. Dr. Huang had just joined them.

'Talk me through this, tell me what we do know about this girl.' Cragen demanded.

'Her name's Hannah. Last name unknown. She hangs around Hell's Kitchen a lot, but she's been spotted in Harlem, Midtown and in Central Park as well, so my guess is she just moves along a lot not to attract too much attention to herself.' Olivia stated. 'She thinks she's about ten, but that's only a guess. She seems kinda small to me..'

'That could just be from the life she's living,' Huang explained, 'She gets beaten a lot, doesn't eat properly and sleeps rough. Stunted growth can occur with homeless children. Also, she is just really skinny.'

'There's no file on her,' Olivia continued, 'so no birth certificate or a file from foster care or any of the homes. She's never been in care.'

'So she wasn't born in care, therefor she must have been with her parents and then ran away or was abandoned.' Cragen concluded, 'Probably poor people, maybe a single mom.'

'She hasn't talked to me about this yet, but someone's beating on her. Maybe she has an adress where she sleeps sometimes and is being abused there.'

'Or maybe it's just the perils of the streetlife as a little girl. People try to take advantage.' Cragen finished for her. 'Olivia, you need to get her to take a medical exam, so we can determine her age and maybe learn a bit more about how she got by her injuries.'

How on earth am I gonna do that, Olivia thought.

Dr. Huang nodded and said, 'I want to talk to her as well. A girl like that is bound to have some problems. Maybe she'll tell me something new, but again, Olivia, you need to get her to open up.'

'How?'

'You're the only one she's talked to so far. Just take it slow.' Huang smiled at her.

The Captain was the one who sighed this time. 'We also need to figure out what it is that she's doing as her 'job'. If it is true, she could be charged with drug running and possession as well.'

'Not if she was exploited!' Olivia objected.

'The only way to prove that is to catch the guy behind that drug business. That's why we need her to talk.'

'You asked for me?' Alex walked in and closed the door behind her.

'Yes, Alex, she need some legal advice.' Cragen pointed to the glass, 'You see that girl in there?'

'You want me to charge her?' Alex asked, surprised.

'No, but she is being charged by another precinct for...' Cragen paused for a second and inhaled deeply for the list to come, 'thefts, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, assaulting a police officer, breaking and entering, criminal trespassing, harassment and loitering with intent. O, and possibly drug running when that comes out...'

Alex' mouth fell open, but she quickly recomposed herself. 'What happened?'

'It's just a bunch of official terms made up by a couple of asshole officers with nothing better to do, than charge a kid who made one smart comment too many to them.' Olivia snapped.

'Yeah, but they can't just be filing an empty charge.'Alex replied.

'It means she's been stealing food, running from the police and trying to stay alive on the streets.' Olivia had calmed down a little bit.

Alex was quiet for a moment and looking at this girl through the window. She was talking to Elliot. Playing with his handcuffs.

'Did she tell you where she's from? If she's under eleven her caretakers can be held responsible.'

'She doesn't come from anywhere, ' Cragen said softly, 'She doesn't even have a name.'

What a mess, Alex thought with sympathy for the girl. 'Well unless she talks to you about her life, abuse or neglect, the court will see her as a runaway, and she'll most likely be send to juvenile hall. That is, how old is she?'

'She doesn't know for sure.' Olivia said, 'She guessed ten.'

'Let's hope that's true. Get the tests done as soon as possible. If she's older than ten, the law puts her in court straight away. I'll go talk to the judge about the case, see if anything like this has happened before.'

'Thanks, Alex.' Olivia smiled.

'Get the girl in here.' Cragen told Olivia.

Hannah was being dumped on a chair in Cragen's office. The sight reminded Elliot so much of Dickie sitting at the prinicipal's office. Cragen made it clear to her that she was in trouble, that running away from getting a file was useless now, it was already too late and she was in the system now, but that they'd try to help her in any way they could. All this with his usual strict-but-kind grandfather face on.

Hannah looked as if she'd just been sentenced with the death penalty though. Huang took the chair next to her.

'Why are you so scared of being documented?' he asked her.

'You wouldn't understand.' She got all defensive at once.

Olivia decided to give it a try. 'Explain it to me, honey.'

Hannah sighed, 'It's not that I want to stay anonymous just to get away with crimes I commited.. even though that's what all of you think, I bet.'

'No one thinks that.' Olivia leaned down on Cragen's desk to face her. 'No one really thinks this is your fault.'

'That's bullshit!' Hannah said at once, 'Someone's filed charges against me, right?' Then her stomach made a lot of noise and apologetically she pulled up her legs and draped her arms around them.

'Come on,' Olivia decided, 'first we're gonna go into town to get something to eat. You go wait for me outside the office.'

Hannah practically sprinted out, glad to be away from all those people staring at her.

'Make sure she's okay.' Cragen told Olivia, his voice laced with concern.

'You like pizza?' Olivia asked Hannah, as they were walking side by side down the street.

Hannah looked up at her, feigning confusion, 'What's wrong with you, Detective. What kid doesn't like pizza?'

'Yeah, yeah, smartass,' Olivia flashed a grin and pushed open the door of the pizza place, 'get inside.'

Hannah had munched down the biggest pizza they could order in there and was now starting on Olivia's. She looked like she hadn't eaten in days.

'When was the last time you ate?' Olivia tried to sound casual.

She pulled up her shoulders 'Two days ago.'

Shit, Olivia thought.

'Wow, that must be hard.'

'Hmm, that's okay, I just had to wait for money or find something...'

'Wait for money?'

Hannah threw down the slice she'd been eating. 'Fine. I steal. When I can anyways, but you already knew that, didn't you.' She was getting angry. 'And now, since I met you, I'm facing charges for it. So much for helping me...'

Olivia felt so guilty and didn't know what to say.

Hannah continued. 'You've made me visible! You should've just left me alone, I was fine on my own!'

'No, baby, you were not fine.' Olivia pleaded, 'Look at you...'

'No! You don't understand... I was invisible from the day I was born, and I thought that sucked, but then you showed up and now they're gonna put me away. Because when they see me, they just wanna lock me up. So it's better if nobody can see me, because no one wants me anyways and I am no one!' She shouted at Olivia, banging her fists on the table.

'You should've just let me stay invisible, like I should be...' Hannah said softly, sinking back down on the chair.

Olivia stood up and knelt down next to her chair. With tears in her eyes she turned Hannah's head towards her. 'Listen to me. You are not invisible, baby.' Her voice broke with emotion.

'You are gorgeous and I see you.' Hannah looked at her and was shocked by Olivia's tears. Completely against all things she believed in, Hannah let her head fall to the side and rested it on Olivia's chest. She was just so tired of running.

'I see you..' Olivia just kept repeating as she held her head and gently stroked her hair.

**Thank you all so much for the reviews, they make my day :)**


	10. Reborn

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 10: Reborn

Hannah and Olivia had a deal: Olivia would buy her some new clothes, and then Hannah would get the medical exam done. The clothes she had on right now barely deserved the name, they were rags. But, and this was an important issue, Hannah would choose them, because she 'ain't wearing no fucking pink shit.' It was all fine with Olivia, as long as she took a shower.

Right before the door of this one store, Hannah stopped.

'Listen, Liv, I can't go in here.' Hannah had taken over the habit of Elliot's nickname for her. Olivia liked it. It meant she was getting more comfortable with her.

'Why not?'

'Hello, will you look at me? There's not a chance in hell they're gonna let me in here!' She did seem a bit out of place, with her almost dreadlocks and grubby face. 'I'm a streetrat.'

Olivia took on her Detective-pose. Tough and with authority. 'Let 'm try and kick us out.' Then she winked at Hannah.

Laughing, Hannah skipped in, holding Olivia's hand.

A bunch of clothes, a lot of strange looks and a few hours later, they came back out.

'Hey, they're selling baseball caps in here. You want a new one?' Olivia offered.

'No way.' She pulled her own even tighter over her head.

Olivia smiled, 'Yeah, I didn't think so.'

At the hospital, Hannah was taken in by a couple of nurses. They were kind to her, but Olivia could tell she was nervous. She took of her cap first and gave it to Olivia.

'You better not lose that one.' Olivia put it on.

'Not like that,' Hannah laughed, and put the cap on backwards on the Detective's head. 'Much better.' Olivia playfully pretended to try and slap her.

After that she took off that hoody. I could fit into that one, Olivia thought. She didn't notice before, but the little girl's arms were covered in bruises. A nurse took a few pictures of them and made a note.

'Why's she doing that?' Hannah asked Olivia, a little bit annoyed.

'As evidence.'

Hannah pulled back her arm. 'Evidence for what? I fell..'

Olivia took her arm and pointed out one of the bruises. It had the shape of a hand, you could even make out the fingers in skin that had turned blue. 'That too?'

Hannah shrugged and twisted her arm to pull it away, turning her wrist up. Olivia gasped. On her forearm were a bunch of small wounds: cigarette burns.

'Sweetheart, who did that to you?'

All the nurses stared at Hannah now, in shock. It made her feel insecure. 'I dunno...'

Olivia felt bad for her. 'We can talk about it later, okay?'

Hannah nodded quickly, thankful for the way out.

Next they had to take off her grey shirt, nothing but holes really, and a white shirt she wore under that one. She wore another tight shirt under that one, that had once been white too. You could count her ribs through the shirt, that's how skinny she was.

She kicked off her boots. Olivia noticed they were old army boots. 'Where did you find those?'

'One of the girls gave it to me.'

'A pro?'

'Yeah, they took care of me a bit, sometimes.'

Her pants weren't in much better shape, almost shredded to pieces.

'Do I have to take off my underwear as well?' Olivia could see on her face that that was not going to happen. 'No, not right now anyways. Just take of that t-shirt.'

Hannah pulled it over her head and gave it to her. To her surprise Olivia noticed that the back was wet and she turned it around. There was blood all over it.

'Baby, turn around please.'

Before she'd even moved she said to Olivia, 'Don't worry', which made Olivia even more worried.

As Hannah reluctantly turned around, Olivia couldn't help but let an 'O God' escape her lips. Her little back was covered in welts and long scars. Some were bloody, some were bruised. There were some on her upper legs as well. It looked like she'd been receiving beatings for a long time.

'It's okay, ' Hannah tried to calm them down, 'It don't hurt much.'

Olivia felt fury burn inside her. 'Don't worry about it,' Hannah said again, turning back to face her. 'It's okay.'

But Olivia felt nothing but anger choking her up. 'I will find whoever did this to you.' She promised, with eyes blazing.

Hannah just stared at her with her big brown eyes. God, Olivia thought, she's so little.

When it was time to run the tests on her bones and teeth, Olivia had to wait outside.

She sat on the blue hospital seats, legs wide open and elbows leaning on her legs: her usual way of sitting like a man. She was sipping her coffee when Elliot came walking up to her.

'What on earth are you wearing?' He was talking about the cap she still had on backwards.

'Hmm, what?' She seemed distant and he immediately changed his tone.

'Liv, are you okay?'

She laughed a humorless laugh. Elliot frowned.

'Hannah's okay?' he asked.

'They're examining her now... Elliot, she's been burned with cigarettes, beaten and whipped. I mean seriously whipped with a belt and God knows what. Her back is a bloody mess.'

Elliot inhaled slowly, trying to control the anger he could feel boiling up inside him.

He still tried to calm her down though. 'Liv, we see kids who were abused all the time...'

'Yeah, but she's...'

'She's different,' Elliot finished for her, 'You got attached.'

Olivia rubbed her eyes, realizing he was right. 'She's not mine, Elliot.'

'But you wish she were.' He looked at her.

'I... I don't know. I know how she feels, that's for sure.' She shook her head, She was always trying so hard not to think about this stuff.

'I've been alone my whole life...' Olivia whispered. She turned away, looking at the door. 'I'm whining..'

'No,' Elliot put an arm on her seat. 'No, you're not.' He also turned towards the door again and softly said, 'Family is everything.'

Right then they both looked up as a nurse walked through the door. 'You can come in now, we're done.' But before she'd even finished her sentence, Hannah slipped past the nurse on her own. 'Are we done yet? Can I go now?'

'Are you okay?' Olivia asked and Hannah nodded impatiently, hopping from one foot to the other. She was still filthy and wore nothing but the once white underpants.

'You plan on going out like this?' Elliot asked her, laughing.

'Nope,' Hannah smiled, 'like this.' She grabbed her cap off of Olivia's head and put it on.

'Come on, Trouble,' Olivia said laughing, 'I'm gonna put you in a shower.'

The thought didn't get Hannah very excited, but she followed after her. As she turned around, Elliot could see the marks of her abuse as well. He swallowed and thought of his own kids. He'd kill anyone if they ever laid a hand on his kids in that manner, so he could understand where Olivia was coming from. He just wanted her to be happy, he wanted her to have the child she'd always wanted, he just wanted her to not be alone...

In the showerblock of the hospital, Olivia handed Hannah a couple of bottles of soap and shampoo. She seemed lost, so Olivia quickly explained what was what.

'You need help?'

'Do I look like a baby to you?'

Yeah, you do... 'No, go ahead, I'll be right here if you need me.'

She was singing in the shower, and from the splashing Olivia heard, jumping up and down as well. It made her so happy to see this child being a child. That was how it should be.

'Hey, what's that you're singing?' Olivia called out, curious. Munch had been right for once: this girl could really sing. She didn't even sound like a ten year old, her voice sounded far more mature.

'It's P!nk of course!' Hannah said, as she came walking out in her new underwear. She looked better already.

'Sing some more, as I comb your hair.' Olivia put her on a chair, careful not to touch sensitive skin.

Everytime Olivia pulled her hair, which happened a lot since her hair hadn't been combed in years, Hannah sang just a little bit louder. It sounded so funny, Olivia had trouble holding back her giggles.

'Let me look at you,' Olivia said when she was finished, 'You look like you were reborn. All shiny and clean.' Her hair was darkbrown down to shoulders and with all the knots gone, it was shining. 'Go on, put the rest of your clothes on.'

Hannah hoisted herself in her new pair of jeans, a little t-shirt with some baseball logo on it and a grey hooded jacket. She tied her new Converse shoes' laces and as a finishing touch put on the little fake-leather jacket she had picked out. She looked absolutely adorable.

'Spin around for me,' Olivia said as she took her hand. They laughed and danced around together for a while.

When they walked back into the squadroom later that day, it took most quite a while to recognize the former streetrat. Until she opened her mouth, of course.

'She looks so cute!' Melinda said to Olivia.

'She looks like a tiny Benson...' Munch said, staring at her.

The first thing Fin said when he came in, and he saw Hannah all washed clean, was, 'Hey, she is white after all!'

'Yeah, maybe you should try it!' Hannah told him, all cocky.

Fin turned around. 'I see the attitude is still the same though.'

'Yeah, you think they'd wash that off too, old man?'

'Hey who are you calling an old man?' Fin crossed his arms in front of his chest and cocked his head to the side, with a strict frown on his face.

'You!,' she quickly retaliated, 'Since I don't know what else to call you.'

'My name's Fin, little girl.'

'What kind of a name is that?'

'It's mine!'

Hannah also cocked her head to the side.

'You got a problem with that?' Fin said, raising his voice.

'No,' Hannah was thinking about it for a second. 'I kinda like it...'

'Good!'

She didn't seem intimidated and just continued to stare at him. This seemed to go on for minutes, when he had had enough.

'Well, go on!' he yelled at her, 'Get outta here!' But then he winked at her and his expression softened at once. She ran off to Olivia's desk, smiling, and he sat down to his.

Fin figured he could get used to this kid hanging around.

**Writing like crazy here to keep you all happy, haha**


	11. Guardian angel

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 11: Guardian angel

'Olivia?' Hannah was tugging on Olivia's sleeve. She'd been watching TV upstairs quietly for hours. The only sounds coming from the lounge were the intro of Jackass and a lot of Tom & Jerry-like squeals from some cartoon. Olivia had to get some work done she hadn't finished yet, from previous cases.

'What is it, babe?' She said looking up.

'Where am I gonna sleep tonight?' She looked scared.

'Uhm...' Olivia turned in her chair and took Hannah's hands. She had dreaded this moment.

Hannah didn't need to hear it, she understood. 'You're gonna send me to a shelter, aren't you.'

'I'm afraid we have no choice.'

'Don't expect me to stay there!' She pulled her hands free defiantly.

Olivia felt so helpless. 'Please, honey, it's only for the night. Don't run away. I really need your help here in the morning.' Olivia tried.

'Why would I help you? You're dumping me now, right, why do you expect me to not do the same thing?' That one stung and Olivia felt breathless. Elliot looked at them from the other side of the desk, he didn't know what to say either.

'Actually, I might have the solution.' Cragen popped up behind them. 'I've spoken to the judge at Family Court, where you'll be tried, Hannah, and they also need to decide where you'll stay, now and after the trial.'

Hannah felt like her head was about to explode. So many things were going on at the same time. She felt like she couldn't keep up.

'And the Judge told me that because of her age and situation, 'Cragen continued, looking at Elliot and Olivia, 'she can stay under the supervision of a Detective on the case, until the trial.'

'She can stay with me.' Olivia said immediatly. 'I mean,' she said, directed to Elliot, 'you already have a house filled with kids, and Kathy doesn't even know her, a-and... Well, only if you want to, Hannah.'

'Sure.' Hannah tried to sound as if she didn't care, she tried not to be hopeful, but inside she was doing backflips of excitement.

'Can we go now?' She said, impatiently. 'I wanna see your crib.'

Olivia smiled and looked down, 'It's just an apartment, but yeah, we should go, it's getting late.' She looked at Elliot for approval and he nodded.

'Go,' he said, 'How many times haven't you covered for me when something was wrong with my kids.'

Olivia smiled a thank you 'Goodnight, Elliot.'

'You too, and hey, kid,' Elliot stopped Hannah, 'Behave.' he said with a wink.

'Always.' she replied, arrogantly. Elliot chuckled and focused on his paperwork again.

They pulled up to Olivia's place a little bit later.

'Have you ever been to this part of town before?' Olivia asked her.

Hannah shrugged, 'Yeah, I used to sleep in porches here sometimes. Because it's not too dangerous over here, you know, but not fancy enough to have some fucking doorman throwing you out.'

Olivia nodded, 'Well, now you'll get to see one of the apartments from the inside.'

As they were walking up the stairs Olivia warned her. 'Just so you know, it's a mess and kinda small too.'

'It has a roof, right?' Olivia thought she was joking, 'So that's all I need.' But realized with a shock that this girl was absolutely serious.

'Where else do you usually sleep?' Olivia had noticed that if she asked her about serious things on a random moment, without too much pressure, Hannah was more willing to talk to her about it.

'At the hotel, Devil's Paradise, in the porches, in old warehouses or factories, sometimes I get myself locked in in stores, stuff like that. In the summer it's a lot easier. I sleep at Central park or in some alley or under a bridge...I spend a lot of time on the roofs, move like that or sleep there.' Hannah talked freely now, she didn't see why any of this could be shocking.

'You ever get scared?' She said carefully. Hannah didn't answer that question though. Still having to act tough, Olivia thought.

When they walked into the apartment, Hannah's mouth fell open. She walked around, touching the furniture and opening random drawers.

'You live in a palace.' She whispered in awe.

Olivia couldn't believe what she just heard. She looked around her apartment: a small kitchen, a living room with a couch and TV, a bedroom with her old double bed and a tiny bathroom about the size of her shower. Then there was this little room she kept as storage. She hoped Hannah wouldn't open that door, that would certainly burst her bubble, it was a mess in there.

'Why...' Olivia stumbled, 'would you call this a palace?'

'I dunno,' Hannah had wandered into the bedroom by now, 'everything's so clean...'

She took up a picture frame. 'Is that your mom?'

'Yeah..' Olivia said, again trying really hard not to think. She tried not to think about when she was around Hannah's age. She tried not to think about wandering around her mother's bedroom. She tried not to think... too late...

_'What are you doing in here?'_

_Nine year old Olivia spun around and faced her mothers latest boyfriend. _

_'I- I didn't do anything' she said in a small voice._

_'I think your mother told you not to come in here..' he said to her, threateningly. _

_Olivia could only nod. _

_Then he turned around to see where Serena was, and when he saw that she was out of sight, he slapped the girl hard in the face. _

_Olivia bit her lip and bit back the tears. _

_'You better not say a word to your mommy, who knows what might happen...'_

'Hey, are you okay?' Hannah looked worried. Olivia's silence made her insecure.

'You want me to leave?' She said quickly.

With a shock Olivia came back to planet earth. 'No, baby, no, I don't want you to leave.' She leaned against the doorway of her bedroom. 'I'll tell you what I do want though, ' With a twinkle in her eyes she continued, 'Ice cream!'

She made a dash for her kitchen and Hannah ran straight after her.

'Wait!' Olivia stopped before the fridge, blocking the way and looking at Hannah with fake seriousness, 'How do I know you're not gonna eat my complete stash of ice cream during the night?'

'You don't!' Hannah quickly grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's and tried to get away.

Olivia scooped her up almost immediatly, 'Nice try, kiddo.' She dumped the little girl on the couch and gave her a spoon.

As they were both eating out of the bucket of ice-cream, they talked about a lot of different things.

Apparently, Hannah liked ice-hockey as well, but hated football. She said she was a great poker player, Olivia believed her at once, but had never heard of games like Monopoly or Cluedo. She couldn't ride a bike, but she had a hell of a right hook. Yeah, Olivia thought, ask Elliot. She loved Tom & Jerry, but had never watched TV sitting down quietly, she always watched through someone else's window. She liked the colour red, the singer p!nk, dogs, pizza and beating boys at sports. Also, she thought most girls were weird.

Olivia was surprised at how easy it was to talk to this girl now. The girl who had fought her, yelled at her and stonewalled her like a professional. And, she was surprised at how easily she let herself relax around this girl. It almost seemed natural.

So, half a pint of ice-cream later Hannah knew that Olivia didn't like football either, only football players. She'd love the challenge of playing poker with her, although she didn't like the idea of Hannah playing for money. Olivia had a mean uppercut, that she'd promised to teach her. Poor Elliot. Olivia liked the colour blue, the taste of wine, the smell of rain and of course, pizza. What they agreed on most though, was that girls really are weird.

After Hannah had already fallen asleep, Olivia realized that she only had one bed. Guess she'd have to sleep on the couch, but that wouldn't be the first time. Hannah was wearing one of Olivia's old oversized t-shirts from the police academy as pyjama's. She tucked Hannah in and thought, it doesn't matter what anyone says, this girl looks like a little angel right now.

As she was walking away, she saw from the corner of her eye that Hannah was moving. All of a sudden, she shot up.

'Liv?'

'I'm here, sweetie.'

'Where are you going?' Hannah's eyes shot across the room feverishly.

Olivia sat next to her on the bed as she lay the little girl back down.

'You want me to stay?'

Hannah nodded. 'Yeah, you can sleep here, if you want.'

If I want... Olivia laughed to herself at Hannah's ability to always make it sound as though you were the one calling the shots. Olivia went in to the other room to change and when she came back, Hannah was curled up into a ball, but looking quite comfortable.

'Are you asleep?' Olivia asked as she turned off the lights and slid under the covers.

'Yes' Hannah whispered, as she moved a little bit to get closer to Olivia.

Olivia chuckled, 'Goodnight then.' she whispered back.

**Much love to all my devoted readers :)**


	12. Inside the outsider

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 12: Inside the outsider

The next morning Olivia woke up with Hannah in her arms. She hadn't even noticed her crawling closer during the night. Getting her out of bed turned out to be quite hard. 'But your bed is so sooooft.' Hannah had pleaded, but Olivia told her she had to talk to Dr. Huang today. A grumpy looking Hannah hopped out of bed and locked herself in the bathroom, only to come out fully dressed, skipping and happy, five minutes later.

At the precinct Elliot was waiting for them. Hannah went straight to the sodamachine and Olivia sat down to her desk.

'So, how are you liking playing mom?' he asked her.

Olivia sighed, 'She is not a morning person.'

'Neither are you.'

Olivia looked up smiling, 'She's sweet.'

'Very sweet, by the way, do you know your little angel is getting a free soda?' Elliot pointed down the hall.

Hannah was busy prodding the machine with a few little sticks and a key. Then, with a thud, a can came rolling out. 'Hey!' Olivia yelled.

Hannah put on an innocent face and threw her gadgets behind the machine. 'What? It just came rolling out.'

'Hannah, get in here!' Cragen called her from his office. Hannah dragged her feet all the way. 'Olivia, Elliot, I want you two in here as well.'

Inside Hannah started to slowly move to the left. 'Don't even try that,' Cragen warned her.

'Try what!' she snapped, defensively.

'Try and dump that can. I saw you take it.'

Hannah rolled her eyes and Eliot and Olivia tried to suppress a smile.

'Now that coke costs about a dollar, a dollar that you stole from me.'

'What, are you a soda machine?' Feeling threatened, her streetsmart attitude came back at once.

Cragen ignored her and continued, 'You are going to earn that dollar back in order to pay me.'

Hannah looked up in disgust. 'You mean...'

'Yes, you are going to work for the soda.' He took the can from her hands and put it on his desk. 'Because you have to learn you can't just take things without paying for it.' He looked at her sternly and Hannah let out an exaggerated sigh.

'You see those boxes of paperwork over there?' he pointed to the mountain of boxes in the back of the squadroom, 'They need to be taken downstairs, one by one, to the cellars. You can take the elevator and hand them over to the clerk there. Come back here when you're done.'

'Fine.' Hannah slammed the door on her way out.

'I want you two to make sure she does it, and keep an eye on her.' He said to Olivia and Elliot.

They nodded. 'I feel bad for her.' Olivia laughed.

'No it's good,' Elliot grinned, 'she needs to learn. She has no idea what's okay and what's not. She doesn't know what rules are.'

'Exactly.' Cragen said, 'Now lets hope she doesn't hate me after this.'

Soon Hannah was walking in and out of the squadroom with world's darkest look on her face. Dr. Huang walked in and wanted to discuss Hannah with Olivia.

'I want to talk to her about where she's lived so far, where she's come from. Maybe talk about the abuse and see if there are any signs of sexual abuse as well. Has a rape kit been done?' Huang asked Olivia.

'No, no she wouldn't let them.' They both knew this was typical for abuse victims, and even more so, typical for Hannah.

'From what I've seen so far she has a problem with authority, which is not so strange if she's been locked up in a holding cell, she has abandonment issues, but she seems intelligent. I need to know what her skills are in that department.'

Fin had joined them. 'Maybe I can talk to her about the drugs thing she's involved with. I know the business. Olivia, you could sit in.' Fin offered.

'I want to talk to her alone first,' Huang said, 'but after that you can try.'

Munch came walking in the squadroom, clutching a cup of coffee. 'I thought child labour was illegal in this country. I just passed a very pissed off little girl in the elevator.'

'Good!' Fin said, 'that kid needs to learn some respect.'

Munch smirked, 'Well she's learning something all right, she's thinking up charges to file against you, Captain.'

'I'd love to hear those once she's done with the boxes.' Cragen said, walking away.

When she was finished, and had claimed back her soda, Dr. Huang wanted to interview her right away. Olivia didn't like that she couldn't be there, but she understood. At least she was allowed to look in.

'So, Hannah,' Dr Huang started, 'we've met before, but my name's Dr. Huang. I'm a psychiatrist.'

Hannah nodded and slouched a little in her chair. She was getting bored by all this already. Huang noticed.

'I heard that you were the one that gave Detective Stabler his bruise.' That caught her off guard.

'Yeah... I didn't mean to. He just scared me.' She tried not to look him in the eye.

'Why?'

That seemed obvious to her, 'Because he tried to hold me down.'

'Has that happened before?'

'A lot, these past couple of days!' Her eyes shot fire.

'Before the Detectives found you?' There was something calming about the presence of this Dr. Huang and Hannah could feel it.

'Sometimes...' She didn't want to think about it. 'Sometimes the older boys grab me and take my money, if I have any. Or sometimes men...'

'What men, Hannah?'

She pushed away the stuffed animal on the table. 'I don't fucking know! God...'

Feeling this was going wrong, Dr. Huang tried something else. 'I heard you like to sing.'

'Yeah...' Her expression softened a little.

'Who taught you the songs?'

'There's music everywhere! In stores and on the streets. Some of the homeless teens sing for money. They teach me..'

'You hang out with those teens a lot?'

'Not too much, they want me to come back. They're always asking me.'

Olivia frowned on the other side of the glass, and Huang seemed confused as well.

'Come back to where?'

Apparently that was a strange question. 'The family.'

'What family?' Olivia asked Elliot, who had just joined her. But Huang didn't want to badger Hannah into explaining.

'They help you with money as well, these teens?'

'No, then I'd have to join the family.' Hannah stated the obvious.

'So, I know you sometimes take things that aren't yours, but do you earn money as well? Do you ever, say, beg for money?'

Hannah seemed disgusted, 'No!'

'So who gives you money?'

'I do some jobs, sometimes help around a deli for a day.. I do other stuff as well.'

Huang treaded with care. 'Like what?'

'I can't tell you.' She seemed so sure, it was going to be hard to get her to talk about it.

'Why not?'

Hannah laughed, but it was humorless. 'Because I don't want to die.'

Olivia took a deep breath.

Hannah had picked up a pencil and started drawing a little bit on a paper that was laying on the table.

'Maybe you can draw the family for me, as I go out for a second, to get some tea.' Dr. Huang was watching her. She quickly started drawing, so he guessed that meant yes.

Fifteen minutes later he handed Olivia the drawing she'd been making. It was an almost perfect picture of a motorcycle in a race. Around the race a bunch of kids were sitting and watching, they all looked like teenagers.

Next to the drawing she'd written something:

''_Here we go , Don't you know_

_We're the ones that keep it wicked_

_Rock and roll, All good, Mix it up_

_That's my ticket_

_Cruising in my Cadillac, Escalade, Trickin'_

_Sometimes like it easy, Sometimes like it rugged _

_Keep control, Don't you know_

_Hit the floor, Run for cover_

_Flew around the world about fifty times over_

_From New York, To LA, To the white cliffs of Dover_

_The road can be my enemy, The road can be my lover_

_From the humble neighborhoods we're taking over the dancefloor_

_We don't wanna go home_

_From the humble neighborhoods we're getting out of control_

_We're bad people and we do bad things'' _

'Wow, she's quite the artist.' Elliot was impressed, after seeing years of his kids'drawings.

'What's that she's written?' Olivia wondered out loud, 'sounds like a poem or a song.'

'That's not the point!' they all looked at Dr. Huang, ' She's never been in school. Where did she learn how to read and write? And who taught her to write this.'

Olivia looked up, 'She must've taught herself, or maybe with some help of those teens.'

Dr. Huang nodded, 'She seems intelligent to be able to do that.'

'You could just ask me.' Hannah was standing behind them. 'What? You people expect me to just stay in that room like a locked up dog?' She said indignant.

'What does this mean, Hannah, what you've written?'

'It's a song, they sing it al the time. It's like their song.'

'Who sings this?'

'Damn, don't you listen?! The family...'

Elliot jumped in, 'So, the family is a bunch of homeless teens.'

'Yeah they stick together. Most are not really homeless though. I mean, they live on the streets, and some have no choice because they're runaways, but some even choose to be there.'

Olivia sat down and asked her, 'And they want you to join them?'

'I was with them, but don't want to be there anymore... They do a lot of drugs, shooting up all the time, and they always tell you what to do... I don't like it when people tell me what to do.'

Everyone in the room thought the same thing in that moment: We've noticed...

'When did you leave?'

'I didn't leave... I was taken. I remember being there when I was really little. They took care of me and fed me and stuff, under a bridge. Then a man took me away when I was little and put me in foster care.' Hannah's face became all dark again. 'That wasn't good...'

When everyone was silent, she asked, 'Can I just walk around for a little bit... I'm tired of all the questions.'

'Go.' Olivia smiled.

Dr. Huang sat down. 'So as a baby she was with a group of homeless teens who call themselves 'the family'. Maybe one of them was her mother.'

Elliot sighed. 'A lot of these girls get pregnant and die soon after from their heroin addiction. They don't make great mothers.'

'But she says a man took her and put her in a foster home,' Olivia said, 'That can't be true. There would be a file on her.'

'So she's been taken by someone who pretended to be of Child Services.' Huang concluded, 'and I'm guessing she ran away after a while.'

'Yeah, Sister Peg told me she as already living rough when she was six.'

Munch walked by and casualy mentioned, while looking over his glasses, 'You know your kid's up on the roof and smoking?'

'I'm not surprised,' Huang said with his usual hard-to-read smile, 'Most homeless kids are in fact teens. They taught her all she knows. That's why she swears so much as well.'

Elliot shook his head, 'You want me to go smack her around the head, Liv, or will you.'

'Don't' she said as she got up, 'I'll do the smacking.' And as she walked out she slapped Elliot gently on his shoulder.

'Hey!' he cried out, feigning hurt.

It was easy to find her. Olivia was walking up the stairs and as she opened the door to the roof, she could hear Hannah's clear voice singing. Olivia listened for a second:

_'' Feeling like a loser, feeling like a bum_

_Sitting on the outside, observing the fun_

_Don't get on my bad side, I can work a gun_

_Hop into the backseat, baby, I'll show you some fun'' _

Olivia walked up closer without making a sound. Hannah was sitting facing the city, looking out over the roofs. The cigarette in her hand looked strange: she held it like a true smoker, but the hand seemed too small to hold it.

_'' These people are weird in here, and they're giving me the fear_

_Just because you know my name, doesn't mean you know my game_

_I look myself in the face, and whisper: I'm in the wrong place_

_Is there more to lose than gain, if I go on my own again_

_Inside the outsider...''_

She stopped as soon as Olivia sat down next to her. The first thing she did, was taking the cigarette out of Hannah's hands and throwing it over the edge.

'Hey! You know how hard it was to find that one?' Hannah looked over the edge, angry.

Olivia scoffed, 'You know how hard it is to grow a new pair of lungs?'

Hannah shrugged, 'Don't give me that... besides, smoking relaxes me.'

'You won't be as relaxed when I'm done with you if I ever catch you smoking again.'

'Whatever.'

They were silent for a while 'That song you were singing,' Olivia said, 'Is that your song?'

'My song?' Hannah asked, turning to her.

'Yeah, it fits you. but that's probably why you sang it...'

'I guess...'

'Sing some more. I want to know how it continues.'

'You're not serious...' Hannah asked incredulously.

'I'm fucking serious!' Olivia cried out.

Hannah looked at her sternly, 'You know, if you wanna go around and play the good rolemodel, telling me not to smoke and all that shit, you really shouldn't be swearing like that in front of me.'

Olivia grinned at her bold remark, 'Yeah, but you're not gonna tell anyone, right?'

Hannah held up her hands, 'I'm afraid I'll be forced to let Elliot know, maybe even Cragen...'

Olivia opened her mouth, faking shock, 'Elliot's the one who wanted to come up here and smack you around the head for smoking. I was trying to help you get out of that one. Besides, you wouldn't dare,' She challenged the little girl.

Hannah seemed less impressed, 'Elliot swore on his kids he'd never touch me, so I'm safe. And you really think I wouldn't dare? Watch me, Detective.'

She tried to jump out of the way, but Olivia had already grabbed her and started lightly tickling her stomach. The girl was giggling, but Olivia didn't trap her. She didn't want to bring back any memories of her abuse. But right now, Hannah seemed fine.

'You still plan on telling?' Olivia laughed

Trying to squirm away from her hands, she quickly said, 'Okay, okay, okay I won't tell.'

Olivia let her go at once, looking at her. The smile had stayed on Hannah's face though, all the way up to her eyes. It was beautiful.

'Sing.' She said, nudging Hannah.

Hannah inhaled deeply and continued her song:

_''People are connecting, don't know what to say_

_I'm good at protecting, what they wanna take,_

_Spilled the milk at breakfast, you hit me double hard_

_But I grinned at you softly, 'cause I'm a fucking WILDCARD''_

This last word she screamed out over the rooftops of New York City, and Olivia loved it.

'Yeah you are, babe,' she said, pulling Hannah closer to her,

'You are a fucking wildcard.'

**To my darling readers, I will be leaving for a week: That's why I gave you a long chapter ;) I'll write again as soon as I can. xx**

* * *

**The songs in this chapter were: ' Humble neighborhoods' by P!nk and 'Outsider' by Marina and the Diamonds**


	13. Unfolded

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 13: Unfolded

When they came back down from the roof, a broadly smiling Melinda Warner was waiting for them.

'I believe I have some great news for you, Hannah. So good, I wanted to bring you the good news in person.'

The ME held out her hand. ' My name's Melinda Warner, I'm…'

'You cut open dead people, right?' Hannah interrupted her, 'Why do you do that?'

'It's my job to find out what caused their death.' Melinda replied.

Hannah pulled up her eyebrows, not quite understanding, shrugged and said, 'Well, even though a lot of people regret it, I'm not dead.'

Olivia stifled a laugh, but Melinda looked surprised at those words coming out of the little girls mouth.

' So…' Hannah continued, not knowing what to do with the situation, 'what do you want with me?'

'O, right,' Melinda stumbled, 'I got the results back on our examinations of your teeth and bones.'

'Are they still there?' Olivia joked.

'Yes, and we've been able to determine your age, Hannah.'

Olivia looked at Hannah and noticed she seemed a little pale. 'What's wrong, sweetheart?' She asked her, stroking her hair.

'Dunno.. it's just weird. I'm kinda used to not knowing anything about me.' Then she shrugged, 'Fuck it, I wanna know. Tell me.'

Melinda smiled. 'Well, it's November now, your birthday was somewhere in October. You can pick any date you want! We can't be sure.'

'Well, then my birthday's on the full moon.' Hannah decided immediately.

Olivia smiled at her and asked Dr. Warner, 'How old is she, since last month?'

'She turned nine.' And a sigh of relief escaped Olivia. 'She's absolutely in the clear.' Melinda confirmed.

As Hannah ran off, doing a little victory dance, Olivia thanked Melinda.

'She's really something.' Melinda said as she watched Hannah jumping up and down.

'She sure is..' Olivia replied softly. Then she quickly followed after Hannah through the building. Everyone in the building, even the ever-annoyed security guards, couldn't help but smile at the little girl singing and dancing to the song, by P!nk of course, Trouble.

''_No attorneys to plead my case...'',_

She sang while Alex came walking in, leaving her confused.

_''And my fingers are bejeweled, _

_With dimes and gold,_

_But that ain't gonna help me now!''_

Cragen came walking out of the office at the sound, wanting to know what was going on. She had just started on the chorus.

_''I'm trouble,_

_Yeah, trouble now,_

_I'm trouble ya'll_

_I disturb my town._

_'Cause I'm trouble,_

_Yeah, trouble now._

_I'm trouble ya'll _

_I got trouble in my town.'' _

She quickly skidded to a halt though when she faced Cragen, causing Olivia to bump into her.

'I thought you causing trouble ought to be finished by now.' He looked down at her sternly. Hannah nodded, obediently.

He continued. 'So, you singing about how you're causing trouble ánd getting away with it, in a police precinct, is not really what I had in mind.'

'Yes, Sir.' Hannah and Olivia said simultaneously.

'But I heard the good news,' Cragen said, more kindly now, 'So congratulations.' He smiled and shook her hand. Hannah beamed, looking up. He'd never had any kids of his own, so most just annoyed him. He figured this one was just hard to read. At least she'd made a lot of improvements from when she first came here, he thought. He looked out of his office and the girl was still singing.

_''You think you're right,_

_But you were wrong…''_

She turned to Elliot with the next line, cheekily singing,

_''You tried to take me,_

_But I knew all along,_

_You can't take me for a ride.''_

Elliot just shook his head, grinning at he teasing. One thing was for sure, he liked her a lot better like this, than her all angry and lashing out.

Hannah turned around and sang to Olivia as well, taunting without malice,

_''I'm not a fool,_

_So you better run and hide,_

_'Cause I'm trouble…''_

The little girl shrieked as Olivia chased after her and the entire squadroom was laughing at the scene. After a few rounds around the desks, Olivia hopped over a chair with ease and lifted Hannah up into the air, covering her mouth with her hand. 'You're gonna get me fired!' She laughed. Hannah nodded, giggling through her hand.

Olivia put her back on the ground, when Fin came walking up.

'Baby girl,' Fin said to Hannah, 'I need your help.'

Hannah looked at Olivia. 'It's okay, just talk to him. I promise nothing bad will happen to you anymore. You're here now, safe.'

Fin leaned down on the desk. 'Can you tell me about the work you do?'

Hannah shifted a little bit in her chair, feeling uncomfortable, and she vaguely said, 'I go to some guy's place, I pick up a package there, I walk around with it for a few hours, then I go to another guy's place and drop it. The next day I get 50 bucks.'

'What's in the packages?' Fin wanted to know.

Hannah stared at him in silence.

'You're not in any trouble here.' Fin emphasized again.

'Mostly snow.' Hannah said simply.

'Snow?' Elliot asked.

'That's what the kids call cocaine.' Fin explained, 'Right?' She nodded.

'And you do this every Wednesday?' Olivia asked.

'Yeah,' Hannah smirked, sarcastically, 'that's why I'm screwed…'

Olivia felt panic growing in the pit of her stomach. 'Why do you say that, honey?'

Hannah shrugged. 'First time you people picked me up, and I missed a shift, he got really pissed.'

Hannah wouldn't look them in the eye and it scared them all. 'But that's okay,' she added quickly. 'But now I'm here again and missed another shift, and when he finds out, and he will find out, I was with cops, he'll be very… not happy.'

Olivia leaned closer. 'Hannah, what did he do?'

'He just does it to warn us normally, to not talk.' She avoided the question.

Olivia nodded slowly. 'He's the one that beat you.' It wasn't a question.

'Does he beat all the kids?' Elliot asked. He just assumed there were more.

'Yeah, he's always talking about respect, you know. When we go against him, he uses his belt or stick.' It was a lot easier for the girl to talk about the situation as though it didn't happen to her personally, but Olivia had to ask, 'What did he beat you with last week?'

Hannah stared at her feet. 'A pipe and his belt of course. And he burned me when I wouldn't tell him who I was with.'

All the detectives felt guilty now for letting her stay out before, for not protecting her. But most of all Captain Cragen. 'Right, we're making this case out priority right now!' Finally, Olivia thought.

'I'm so sorry.' Cragen said to Hannah, 'We messed up.'

Hannah grew shy at that and mumbled a quick 'that's okay.'

'I'm assuming you can't quit this job?' Fin asked her, eyes squinted with anger.

Hannahs eyes grew big 'No, Sir. He'll kill you.'

Fin nodded. 'And I'm assuming most kids don't choose this line of work?'

'No…' Hannah sighed, 'Well, some do, but most little ones he picks off the streets. A lot of them in foster care, they disappear all the time anyways. You know, kids no one misses.' Hannah looked up from under her hat. 'That's why he kept me on, but beat me to shut me up. And well, it was either that or a bullet through the head.' She seemed unaffected by this, which filled the detectives with horror. 'Besides, he can beat most into obedience.'

But not you, Olivia thought. She felt almost proud, but with pain in her heart.

'Where do you drop off the package?' Carefully Fin tried a different angle.

'34th, in a cellar under the house with a blue-ish door.'

'Fin, Munch, stakeout at the spot. Follow anyone who comes out, especially if it's a kid, but don't let them see you! Hannah could be in serious danger otherwise.' Cragen said immediately.

Both detectives got up at once. Fin smiled at her and Munch put his hand on her head for a second as they walked out. Hannah just sat there, a little lost.

'Don't worry, we'll get the bastard.' Elliot told her, intensely. She looked at him a little skeptical though.

Just as Olivia pulled Hannah onto her lap, Alex walked in.

'Hannah? Judge Donnelly wants to talk to you.'

* * *

**Hope some of you are still reading this after my time away. Thank you so much anyways! :) **


	14. Heart

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 14: Heart

Hannah was exhausted, to say the least. She'd been talking to the Fin, Olivia and basically all the detectives like she was being interrogated. She'd been talking to Dr. Huang and someone from foster care and another someone from ASC. She'd been dragged around the police station and around the city, meeting more someones. And this had been going on for days. After talking to the judge, she was too tired to stand on her feet, so she spent the night upstairs on the couch once again. It was warm and safe, which was more than she'd ever known.

Olivia, of course, was still up and working on the case. She was trying desperately to find out more about this monster who'd been torturing her girl. That's how she'd come to think of Hannah now: as her girl. Shaking her head, she tried to shake that thought as well. The judge had just told them that Hannah wasn't to be tried for the charges filed against her. They would be on file though, her file with ACS and with foster care. Also, she had to appear in family court in a week to be handed over into foster care. Then she'd be put up for adoption.

In a week, Hannah would be put up for adoption. Olivia had to keep reminding herself of that. And in a week she'd get on with another case.

The next morning, Olivia woke up in the crib, still at the station, with no idea of time whatsoever. When she woke up, Hannah's face hovered inches from her own. Twinkling brown eyes glared at her. 'Wake up!' she said, tugging on the blankets.

The detective squinted her eyes. 'What time is it?'

'It's only like six, but your psycho colleague kicked me off my couch anyways.'

'I heard that!' Elliot yelled out from the locker room. Both Olivia and Hannah grinned.

'And you thought if you couldn't sleep, neither should I.' Olivia mumbled, groggily.

'Kinda.' Hannah shrugged with a smirk on her face.

'That's great…' `but Olivia smiled as well.

'Hannah!' Elliot called out to her, 'C'mon, we're gonna shoot some hoops outside.' He stuck his head around the corner. 'Let Olivia have another 30 to sleep. She needs it.'

She did.

'I'll be there in a sec. I'll let you have another 3 minutes to warm up. You need it.' And with that, Hannah turned back to Olivia. Behind her back, Elliot pretended to throw the ball at her jokingly. Hannah didn't see it though, but Olivia did, with an amused look on her face. Then Elliot nodded and said he'd meet her out on the court in a couple of minutes.

Olivia had rolled onto her side, propped up on one elbow, but with sleep still in her eyes. She was waiting expectantly for what the little girl was going to say. Hannah sat in front of the rack crossed-legged.

'Olivia?' Hannah started.

'Yes?' Olivia dreaded questions like these from Hannah a little bit. They were far too grown up, even for the detective sometimes. She didn't expect this one, though.

'Do you like me?' She looked up at Olivia with sincere brown eyes, but just a little insecure.

'Yeah, I do.' Olivia managed after a while, as a whisper. Hannah's head shot up.

'Even though I steal?'

'Even though you steal.' Olivia answered immediately, not hesitating for a second.

'Even though I smoke?'

'Even though you smoke.'

'Even though I'm a foulmouth?'

'Even though you're a foulmouth.'

'Even though I'm dirty and hated and living on the streets?'

'You're not anymore…' Olivia replied, 'but yeah, I liked you back then as well.'

Hannah had to think for a second. 'Even though I punched Elliot?'

Olivia scoffed. 'Well that does prove you've got a lot of guts, girl.'

Hannah put on her cap straight, imitating her favorite rappers:

_''Aah-ah you know what it is,_

_Everything I do, I do it big.''_

But Hannah's smile quickly faded. 'It doesn't mean anything though.'

Olivia frowned, 'Why do you say that, babe?'

Hannah stared at her like she was some idiot. 'My charges are going on my foster file. No parent in the world is gonna want me. Besides, after all that, Imma end up back on the streets anyways, dirty and hated.' She quickly got up from the floor.' I'm just gonna wipe out Elliot now, so sleep.'

Olivia quickly grabbed her wrist though as she tried to disappear. 'Hannah, look at me. Any parent would be lucky to have you.' She spoke slowly and looked the girl straight in the eye. 'You have to realize that yourself, because I do. They'd be the lucky ones.'

Olivia could see the panic growing in the little girl's eyes, because she was getting so close. Still she continued, 'I don't like you because you smoke or because you don't smoke. Or like you even though you steal or not. None of that matters. I like you because you're funny and really smart and secretly very sweet.' Hannah pulled up her nose in disgust at that last word.

Olivia laughed out loud at her expression. 'Hey,' she joked, 'I could've called you cute as well.'

'Ugh!' Hannah ran off, yelling a 'bye' on her way out. Then after a few moments she came back running in, gave Olivia a quick kiss on her cheek and stormed back out.

As Olivia rolled back onto her back, smiling like an idiot, and she thought of a conversation she had with Elliot a few weeks ago.

_'Elliot, a few months ago I looked into adoption.' _

_'That's great!' _

_'They turned me down.' Olivia looked away from Elliot's surprised gaze._

_He was confused, 'What are you talking about?' _

_'Well, I'm single. I don't have any extended family support system. I work all hours. They didn't see me as prime parent material.' _

_Elliot was silent for a while. 'They're wrong.' _

No chance of sleep now.

Outside, after just a few minutes on the court, it became clear to Elliot that Hannah took her sports pretty serious. Her size was a bit of a problem in basketball, but to her advantage she was fast and agile. It felt really stupid when she passed him by playing the ball quickly and ducking under his legs. Still, it was good for his ego that at least he could beat her at this. He just wondered vaguely how long it would last.

'So your eldest kid is like eighteen?' Hannah wanted to know.

'Almost,' Elliot dribbled the ball, getting ready to shoot, 'She's seventeen now. My second is fifteen and the twins are twelve.' He made the perfect jump shot, the ball going straight through.

'That sucks.' Hannah said, eyes following the ball as it flew through the air.

'My game?' He sounded confused.

'No,' she laughed, 'having four teenage kids. You must never sleep.' Hannah tried her own jump shot.

'Hmm.' Elliot frowned, 'Yeah, but it's fun too. I like being a father.' He dribbled the ball around her, daring her to take it. She did, moving fast like some animal jumping in. He stopped as he could've sworn he'd heard her whisper 'old man' again.

'Though none of my rebellious teenagers have a mouth on them like you.' Elliot said pointing at her.

Hannah just stood there, ball casually held between her arm and side. 'Well, aren't you lucky then.'

There it was again, her defensive sarcasm. Fuck, was all Elliot could think. He looked down. 'That's not what I meant, kid.'

Hannah looked away, as he continued. 'I've never met a little girl that's so tough, you know? My daughters aren't like that at all.' He tried to make eye contact, and was glad to see she was still listening.

'But it's good that you are,' he continued, carefully. He walked over to her and knelt down to her level. 'Because of what you've been through, most kids wouldn't even have survived. I've been on this job long enough to know that.'

Hannah nodded, 'I know, and a lot of girls start doing drugs or turning tricks. That's a bad idea…'

'Yeah!' Elliot said, 'but you just punch people in the face.' He winked and she cracked a smile as well. 'You're a fighter and I love that. Don't ever lose that.' He was completely serious now and Hannah just nodded numbly. For the second time in an hour someone was telling her she was more than just vermin that should be exterminated. This was weird.

Elliot could sense that she was feeling awkward, so he got up and asked her, 'You wanna dunk the ball?'

'Yeah, I'll just grow a pair of wings.' She rolled her eyes.

He smiled invitingly. 'C'mon, just do a layup, I'll help you with the rest.'

Hannah started her layup and when she approached the basket, Elliot lifted her up above his shoulders. She could do the perfect dunk, while Elliot was cheering her on. As she let go again, he caught her in mid-air.

For a second Elliot wished he could frame her smile. She looked like a normal little girl without a care in the world, but hers were so rare. It broke his heart.

She jumped up as high as she could to reach his high-five. Walking back, Elliot put a hand on her back and, surprisingly, she didn't shake it off.

'So, where did you learn to read?'

'The library.' Obviously.

Back inside Olivia was up, clutching her coffee for caffeine. She was knackered from everything going on, she couldn't imagine how much this had to be for a nine year old. She seemed happy enough, walking in with Elliot.

Hannah disappeared to go to the toilet, when Dr. Huang came walking up.

'She seems to be doing a lot better.' Olivia said to him, talking about Hannah.

Dr. Huang had been talking to her on a daily basis from the moment she came there. She had opened up to him slowly and carefully, but she had. 'She is, she's talking about herself more.'

'That's good.' Elliot said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 'By the way, she told me she learned to read in the library? Is that possible?'

'Yes, she told me the same thing and yes, I do think it is possible she taught herself how to read there, with some help of an old librarian. I've done a few of the games with her that we use in the intelligence test. Her IQ is above average, that's for sure.'

Olivia pulled her eyebrows up. 'No surprise there.'

'And,' The doctor continued, 'she has a lot of imagination. She makes up stories all the time to escape reality, so her wanting to learn to read makes sense. She's the sort of child that can do a lot if she really wants to.'

'So getting her enrolled in school will be easy.' Olivia said, hopefully.

'Hmmm..' Dr. Huang looked doubtful, 'On the other hand, she doesn't want to learn things she can't see the point of. Like the little bit of math I tried to do with her.'

'Who can blame her.' Elliot and Olivia shared a look.

'Also, she'll most likely have a problem with the authority figure of a teacher and with the discipline and hours. She's just not used to anyone telling her what to do.'

'She's getting more used to it,' Elliot said, 'She's getting less defensive with me and more cooperating when I tell her she's not allowed to do something.'

'That's good.' Dr. Huang nodded.

'And the singing?' Elliot wanted to know.

'She sings to keep her mind of things.' Olivia nodded, she'd noticed that as well. 'She told me she sings, but softly, when someone is hurting her. She also sneaks into clubs, just for the music. She says everything feels like it's okay when she feels nothing else but the base in her stomach.' He hesitated for a moment, 'She says it's better than drugs or alcohol.'

'She's into that?' Elliot said with eyes growing bigger and bigger.

Olivia shook her head. 'She can't be, she's not missing it now or taking it.'

'I don't think she is,' the doctor said quickly, 'but it makes sense for her to have tried something. A lot of young kids on the streets start with alcohol or sniffing glue or paint.' Seeing the detectives' concerned looks, he added, 'She is very much aware of the dangers of addiction nonetheless. She keeps saying she doesn't want to get into these things. For a nine year old street child, she has some strong values: No heroin, no begging, no prostituting.'

'She does now…' Olivia sighed.

'Exactly,' Dr. Huang confirmed, 'Life will only get harder on the streets and she may not be able to stay this way. She'll get more cynical and lose all faith in a better life. We need to keep her off the streets.'

Dr. Huang turned to Olivia next. 'How are you holding up?' he asked intensely.

'I'm fine.' She said stiffly, not understanding why he was asking her this.

'This girl seems to affect you a lot. Emotionally.' Olivia saw Elliot nodding in the back and it annoyed her to no end.

'Yeah, well, wouldn't it affect anyone with a heart!' She snapped.

Dr. Huang just nodded. 'It would.' That calmed Olivia a little bit, especially when he next said, 'It does me.'

'The both of you need to relax a little bit. I know you're busy working on the case and you really want to get the guy, but do something fun with her.' Elliot advised. 'Go to the movies with her. Because you need to look human and alive again and Hannah really needs to be a kid.' Dr. Huang said that'd be a great idea, and Olivia sighed once again, but agreed. Relax…

'Speaking of,' Dr. Huang asked, 'where is she? I haven't talked to her today yet.'

'O, she just went to the bathroom.'

'That was ages ago.' Olivia said flatly. She had a bad feeling.

Both detectives started sprinting for the toilets directly after that, calling out her name.

Olivia panicked. 'She's not here, Elliot.'

He held onto her shoulders. 'Calm down. This is Hannah we're talking about. She could be anywhere; up on the roof smoking, messing with some security guard, dancing around the halls, anything. She's fine.'

Olivia didn't calm down though. She went into the squadroom, asking everyone if they'd seen her and no one had. The guards hadn't seen her either and Olivia just ran from one place to the other, until Elliot stopped her.

'El, I have a bad feeling.' She just kept repeating.

'What could possibly have happened to her in here? She has just run off, you know she does that a lot. Liv, please, calm down.'

Olivia rubbed her temples and steadied her breathing. Maybe she was just fine. Then she saw something that changed her mind and she raced down the hall, Elliot following in her footsteps.

'Without her cap, Elliot?' Olivia said as she picked up the Yankees baseball cap off of the floor near the exit.

They both knew Hannah would never take that thing off and Elliot's eyes grew with horror.

* * *

**Much love to all my followers for sticking by me, and Hannah XD**

**O and btw, the song Hannah sings is 'Black and Yellow' by Wiz Khalifa**


	15. Pablo

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 15: Pablo

'She's been gone for thirty minutes now, approximately.' Captain Cragen said, as he and all of the detectives were looking at a map of Manhattan.

'Which means she could be anywhere...' Alex said, who had just joined them, sounding desperate. Like all the others, she'd started to like Hannah as well.

'No!' Olivia practically yelled, 'We will find her.' She didn't plan on giving up.

Olivia put her finger on the map where the 16th precinct was. 'He can't have taken her out of Manhattan this fast and he probably won't. He has this whole underground world of crime going on, safely out of view and right here in Manhattan.'

'What places has she mentioned?'

'Hell's Kitchen is where we first met her.' Elliot said and Olivia added, 'She's also talked about some areas around that, and even Harlem sometimes.'

'Will he take her back to Hell's Kitchen?' Cragen asked, incredulously, 'Is he really that arrogant?'

Both Olivia and Elliot were sure of it. 'He took her from a police precinct, from right under our noses, he'll be confident enough to take her back there.'

Cragen nodded, 'I'll let Munch and Fin know what's going on, maybe they'll see something. But Hell's Kitchen is a maze; it's big and chaotic. We need something more to find her.'

'I'm going there to look for her.' Olivia decided, grabbing her coat.

Elliot grabbed her arm. 'You can't, not like this. You look like an angry cop way too much. If he feels threatened, he'll kill her immediately.'

'If she's not dead already…' But Olivia knew it was true. 'We can't just sit here.' She hissed with frustration.

Cragen put down the radio. 'Fin and Munch are at the spot where Hannah used to drop off the packages. They're going to pretend they're with Narcotics, to not attract any attention towards SVU and Hannah, and burst in. Hopefully that'll give us something.'

That's something, Olivia thought. 'In the mean time, go through all the files of child drug running cases we've had.' Cragen continued, talking to Olivia and Elliot, 'See if anything comes up, similar to Hannah's story. Maybe we can get a name of one of the men or an address or anything!'

Frantically, the two detectives were going through the files in the cabinet. They were looking specifically at cases they had been on together with Narcotics.

'Here's one.' Elliot pulled up a file, 'A Hispanic boy, aged 11, running with cocaine last year. He was in foster care.'

'Like Hannah said.' Olivia confirmed. 'Any names, addresses?'

'They picked him up near 47th West, Hell's Kitchen.'

'Which means that they drop off the drugs at Hell's Kitchen for sure, meaning some other high-on-the-ladder guy is staying there. Yet, they could get the goods some other place.' Olivia kept going through the pile of papers. 'Here's another boy, aged 13, who we found beaten to death four years ago, carrying cocaine.'

Elliot frowned, 'Yeah, I remember him. Central park, right?'

'Elliot, look! He had belt marks on his back as well! We thought that was strange, because he seemed homeless... it has to be the same guy's handiwork.'

'So,' Elliot concluded, 'The drugs come from Harlem, the kids take 'm through Central Park, into Hell's Kitchen.'

'Olivia, Elliot,' Cragen came walking in, 'follow me.'

They looked at each other and ran after their captain. Fin and Munch came walking in, roughly dragging a man along with them in handcuffs.

Fin threw him down on a chair. 'We found him at the house. He was sitting there comfortably between about a hundred bags of coke.'

'While some boy was busy counting a lot of cash,' Munch added.

'What happened to the kid?' Elliot asked.

'He ran, and we thought it'd be best to just let him go.' Fin explained.

Olivia loomed over the man. He was sweating; too nervous to look her in the eye. 'Yeah, we have more important things to deal with.' With that she grabbed him by his cuffs and pushed him into an interrogation room. Wincing, he complained, 'Hey, that hurts!'

Olivia laughed a cold laugh and, unfortunately, just missed the chair as she threw him down. 'O, really? I'm sorry.'

The man scrambled back up. 'This…this is police brutality.'

Elliot pulled up his eyebrows. 'What is?'

He panicked a little. 'What she just did!'

Olivia pulled up her shoulders, 'I don't remember.'

'I didn't see anything either.' Elliot feigned confusion as well.

He took the file and started flipping through the pages. 'So… your name's Pablo. That's a cliché…' Olivia was still leaning up against the door, looking darker than ever.

'It says right here that you've been arrested before, for possession, burglary, assault…' Elliot looked up from the file, 'You don't seem that tough now.'

The man was shaking, unable to sit still. He kept looking at Olivia. She returned his gaze and said, 'Well, with all those priors, and the massive amounts of cocaine we found, you could get life.' She picked up a chair, turned it around and sat on it. Her voice was low and dangerous, 'Not even mentioning the child abuse charges.'

'Hey, they're not my kids.' He held up his hands in defense. 'They're no one's kids. Who cares.'

Elliot slammed down the file on the table, almost causing it to fall over. 'Which makes you nothing less but a modern day slave trader.'

'Why are you so nervous?' Olivia wanted to know. 'You're scared to go back to prison?'

He tried to act cool. 'No, no, I'm not.'

'You know what,' Elliot said, pointing his finger, 'I think he's telling the truth; you're not scared of prison. After all, you've already done all that.'

Olivia smirked and looked so evil doing it. 'You're scared of your boss.'

Pablo tried to laugh at them, but it sounded weak. Then he just spoke the truth. 'There's nothing you can do to me in here, that is worse than what he does.'

O, I believe you, Olivia thought, thinking of Hannah's body covered in blood. Anger rushed through her again. She jumped up, leapt at him and pushed him up against the wall. She whispered in his ear, 'Maybe not, but we don't have to. We could just set you loose, make a big scene with a lot of cops in uniforms. You're a dead man, buddy.'

For a second Pablo looked as though he was about to throw up. They let him panic for a little while.

'There is another way…' Elliot started.

'Even though you don't deserve it,' Olivia interrupted, still keeping him pushed up against the wall.

'… Your friend, boss, whatever, took a little girl from this police station. We need to find her. Tell us where he's taken her.'

Pablo relaxed. 'She's dead, man. You're talking about the dark-haired cutie, right? Yeah, I remember her…' A dirty smile formed on his face.

Olivia punched him once, hard and quick, on the nose. He slid down the wall, hands covering his face, crying out in pain. Olivia walked away with her hands up. 'Sorry, couldn't help myself…'

'Couldn't have done it better myself.' Elliot mumbled.

'This is what's gonna happen,' Elliot grabbed him by his coat and hoisted him up on the chair. 'You have about a minute to decide. Give us an address, or we give you an escort around the city, and probably pick you up tomorrow in a body bag.' He smiled at Pablo dangerously. 'Your call.'

He let go of his nose, and blood came gushing out immediately. 'Fine, okay, I'll tell you.'

'Please, do.' Elliot sat down, but inside he was boiling with fury.

'He has a warehouse in Harlem, near the west piers, west 139th street.'

Elliot got up at once, 'Thank you, that's all we needed.'

Blood was all over the table now and his clothes. 'Bitch, you broke my nose...' he mumbled.

Olivia looked over her shoulder as she walked out, 'Yeah? Well, that's not all they're gonna break in prison.' She winked wickedly, 'They love sex offenders in there.'

As soon as she closed the door, Cragen doomed up in front of her. 'What happened to his nose?' he asked, flatly.

'Accident.'

Cragen looked from Olivia to Elliot. 'He bumped his head on the way in. Accident.'

'So, that'd be an accident, huh?'

'Yes, Sir.' They said in unison.

'Hurry up,' He ordered, 'and take Munch and Fin with you. Bring that girl back here safely!'

The detectives nodded and ran off, 'O, and Olivia?' Cragen called after her, 'Don't stain your clothes, there's still blood on your hand.'

* * *

**During the scary bits of the story, you just have to imagine the 'dun dun' sound of Law and Order to go with it haha ;)**


	16. Warehouse

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 16: Warehouse

After racing through town in their cars, without the sirens on of course, they quickly pulled up in 138th street. It was close to the warehouse, but out of sight. Olivia had been bitching to Elliot about everything during the ride: he'd driven too slow, taken wrong turns according to her and even the traffic was his fault. He didn't care though: he understood. It was better for Liv to scream at him like this, than let her anger built up in silence. He wouldn't be able to stop her later on.

As they got out of the car, Munch and Fin came walking up. They prepared their guns and decided on their plan.

'Me and Olivia can take the back exit.' Fin offered.

Elliot shook his head, 'No, I'm going with her. To keep an eye on her.'

'Fuck you, Elliot.' she snarled.

'Liv, shut up!' he threw right back at her, 'This is not the time for heroics. You are way too emotionally involved as it is. I'm your partner, I got your back. This is not about you right now; this is about that little girl. Now, either you're acting like a professional that you are, or we have more chance of saving Hannah without you.'

After that outburst, she just nodded, numb.

'We'll get her out.' Elliot said, more comforting now.

Fin and Munch would go in through either side doors, Elliot and Olivia would take the back. They sneaked around the warehouse, careful not to be seen and guns at the ready. Elliot motioned it was clear to go in and Olivia tried the door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Arrogant son of a bitch, Olivia thought. She opened the door a little, then swung it wide open and held out her weapon in front of her. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see that it was nothing but a big open space. There were just a few towers of big wooden boxes, a few chains hanging form the ceiling and stairs going up: empty, but a lot of places to hide.

Elliot followed after Olivia inside. 'You take the left, I'll take the right.'

Slowly they moved around the boxes and headed for the other side of the building. Munch walked up to them. 'Clear.' he said.

A few moments later Fin did the same. All four of them turned to the stairs. The detectives nodded, and with Elliot taking the lead, they walked up, cautiously.

Treading carefully, he went up, step by step. Once upstairs, he checked out the area with such speed, only a policeman had.

It was undoubtedly empty. The sun was shining in through the old filthy windows. There were cobwebs everywhere and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust: no footprints. No one had been up here for years.

'The bastard lied.' Olivia sighed.

Elliot put his gun down and rubbed his eyes. 'We'll just have to go back and interrogate him again.'

'Thoroughly this time.' Fin added.

Olivia was about to ask him, angrily, what he meant by that, but her fear got in the way of things. 'El, she's been gone for hours now. This guy could have done God knows what to her by now.'

'O, we know.' Munch said, sounding sad, 'we know…' He turned back to the stairs. 'I'll get back to the car and let the Captain know what's going on.' Fin followed him downstairs.

As the other two detectives walked down, Olivia first, Elliot put his hand on Olivia's back. This wasn't their normal way of doing, not at all actually, but this entire case was anything out of the ordinary for them. Especially for Olivia.

All of a sudden they heard a high-pitched scream. It was muffled, as though it came from far away, but because the place was completely silent it was impossible to miss. They recognized it as the little child's voice straight away.

Olivia flew down the stairs with Elliot right behind her. The agonizing screams continued, as they desperately tried to follow the sound. Olivia grew more and more anxious. They could hear the sound coming from beneath them, but where?

'There has to be a cellar.' Elliot yelled, his voice also laced with panic.

'The boxes!' Olivia thought of all of a sudden. They were heavy, but they both started throwing them over and moving them out of the way. Just as Olivia thought she'd go crazy and that they'd never find it, Elliot called her over.

'Carefully.' He warned her, as he opened up the hatch. He shone his light, but they could see nothing but another flight of stairs, going down this time. All this time, Hannah's screaming hadn't stopped. Opening the hatch just made it resound around the warehouse more clearly. They could hear other sounds as well: a man shouting, the sound of a belt of whip cracking and the rattling of chains. Their blood turned to ice at what they heard.

Holding a flashlight in one hand and her gun in the other, Olivia descended first. It was impossible to keep the hatch open, so as Elliot followed her down, her was forced to let it fall shut. Darkness swallowed them and after the hatch shut with a bang, silence as well.

Hannah's screaming had stopped, the man who was with her was quiet now and the detectives couldn't see a thing.

'Hannah?' Olivia called out. With their torches they could make out that they were in an area filled with more boxes, and it seemed to go on forever.

'Olivia!' Hannah called out, hopefully. They could hear chains rattle.

Then they heard a man's voice, deep and without panic. 'Detectives, welcome.'

Footsteps sounded throughout the basement and they heard Hannah stumble weakly, but still trying to act tough, 'You better not touch me again…' Then they just heard one thud and she was quiet.

The light went on. It blinded them for a second. A man was staring at the detectives, smiling.

The drug lord was slowly clapping his hands. 'I didn't expect to see you here this fast.'

'Where is she?' Olivia hissed.

'Who?' Let her be alive, let her be alive, let her be alive, Olivia was praying in her head. God, I'll do anything, just let her be alive.

Elliot felt his anger was tensing him up. 'The little girl you took. Quit playing games, all right? You've got two guns pointed at your head, give it up.'

The drug lord was enjoying the moment. 'O, this?' He kicked away a few boxes and Hannah was lying there on the floor. 'Wouldn't exactly call her human…' Her clothes were once again ripped and bloodied, her face was beat up and a rusty metal chain was wrapped around her neck. She didn't move.

Olivia moved towards her. 'I wouldn't do that either.' Another smaller man stepped out of the shadows. He was black and had a large scar on his cheek. In his hand he had a gun, pointing it at Hannah. 'You move, she dies.'

Olivia backed off. She tried to see if Hannah's chest was still moving. To her relief, it was.

'What do you want?' She asked.

'To have some fun.' The drug lord smirked, 'Hey,' he walked up to the little girl, 'who said you could sleep, huh?' He kicked her in the gut, hard, and Hannah woke up coughing.

Olivia could taste the vomit in her mouth as Hannah winced and moved a little. She tried to get up, but couldn't.

'How did you plan on getting out?' Elliot demanded, 'There are cops everywhere outside.' He wasn't sure he was convincing enough, 'Let me tell you, hostage situations always end in the same way and that's not with you walking away.'

He wasn't convinced; in fact he wasn't even scared. 'O, I don't plan on walking away, but then again, I don't plan on letting you walk away either. And most of all, I don't plan on letting this little bitch walk away.' He walked towards Hannah again, who tried to scramble out of the way. 'Don't you just hate rude kids?' He stepped on her chain to keep her from moving.

Feverishly, both Elliot and Olivia were thinking for a way out. Clearly this man wanted his revenge on Hannah, and on them as well. He liked theatrics and the sound of his own voice, that was for sure.

He hasn't got a gun, Elliot thought with a shock. He was so arrogant and good at diverting their attention; only his sidekick had a gun.

As the black man was laughing, Elliot saw him relax. He spit at Hannah and both men laughed again. Elliot could hear Olivia next to him take in a quivering breath. The drug lord turned to her, loving the reaction. The second the black man turned away from Hannah and had his gun pointed to the floor for only a millisecond, Elliot shot him in the chest three times.

Hannah curled up into a ball, covering her head, at the sound. Olivia was well trained and pointed her gun at the drug lord at once, yelling at him to get back. The sidekick fell back almost in slow motion, dropping his gun.

Hannah leapt forwards immediately and grabbed the gun. Elliot saw the focused look on her face, but didn't expect what she did next. Hannah shot the drug lord once in the head, with a perfect shot, killing him instantly.

The detectives turned to her and the little girl seemed frozen with a look of shock on her face. Then, as Hannah slowly started lowering her gun, the black man stirred, got up, and clobbered her around the head with a metal pipe. That was all he could do, before Olivia shot him in the chest once again and he drew a gurgling last breath.

Olivia looked up with her heart pounding in her throat and saw Hannah lying on the floor, not moving, in a pool of her own blood.

* * *

**I actually got sort of emotional writing this.. what did you think?**


	17. Waiting

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 17: Waiting

Olivia Benson had been sitting on the same chair in the exact same position for hours now, leaning forwards and running her hands through her hair. She was waiting, but didn't really know what for. In her head, the images kept popping up of what had happened in the last couple of hours.

After the shooting in the cellar, everything had happened to fast. They'd called for a bus, asked for backup straight away and Fin and Munch came running down at the noise. But the one image that kept on coming back up, was the one of that little girl lying on the floor with blood gushing out of her head.

Olivia had picked Hannah up and carried her up the stairs. She was alive, but just. Once in the light outside, Olivia tried to take the chain off of her neck. There was no lock; it was just wrapped around her neck and part of her back. Still the medics tried to stop Olivia, saying to her it might do damage to remove them, but she shoved them aside roughly. She even yelled at them that this little girl wasn't some animal in chains. They'd let her after that.

The ride to the hospital seemed unreal. She couldn't believe that this guy they'd been chasing for weeks was actually dead. But at what price? Olivia kept on checking Hannah's pulse the entire way.

'How's she doing?' Olivia looked up and saw Elliot standing in the doorway.

'Critical.'

He nodded, 'Doctor wants to talk to you.'

Olivia followed him out reluctantly, casting back another concerned look on the little girl in the bed. Her doctor flipped through a few papers on a clipboard.

'Are you her mother?' He asked Olivia.

'I'm her legal guardian.' She said without hesitation. Elliot frowned for a second, but didn't say anything; she'd have to deal with that later.

Olivia looked into the room through the open door. Hannah was lying on her stomach, unable to lie on her back. Her head was in bandages; actually her entire body was wrapped up. Tubes were sticking out of her and machines were bleeping. And still the only thing Olivia could think was: God, she's so tiny.

He scribbled something down on his board. 'She's very critical right now. Apart from the large amount of wounds on her back and bruises all over, she doesn't seem to have any internal injuries. Which is a miracle…. But she's lost a lot of blood caused by the blow to her head and she had already been weakened from the abuse before. She's been hit into a coma.' He looked up at the two detectives.

'Well?' Olivia searched his face for answers, but couldn't find any. 'Will she be okay?'

The doctor put down his papers and sighed, 'Because of her size and the fact that she had been weakened already, her chances of recovery are very slim.' Tears former in the corner of Olivia's eyes.

Elliot put his hand on the small of Olivia's back. 'So, what do we do now?' he asked.

'We wait. She's still alive now, but unless she fights really hard, she won't be soon.' He turned to Olivia, 'I'm sorry, I don't want to give you any false hope, but most adults wouldn't even have the strength to overcome these injuries.' He smiled at her almost apologetically and walked away.

Olivia closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, as Elliot leaned into her. 'Are you okay, hey, Liv?' he whispered, trying to calm her with his icy blue eyes. 'You heard what he said? 'unless she fights'? Well if we know one thing after these few weeks, it is that she will fight. You know that, right?'

She nodded and fought back her emotions. Olivia tried to take in his words, but they seemed to come from far away. But she did know her was right on this one; Hannah would never go down without a fight.

'I'm fine, El. I'm good.' She ran her hands through her hair once again.

'You need some coffee, something to eat?' She'd already started shaking her head, even though she could actually use that coffee now.

He didn't let her refuse that easily though. 'You go get some coffee, you need to get out for a second, and I'll stay here with her.'

'Okay.' She smiled thankfully.

At the coffee machine, Olivia kicked it twice to get it to conform. She got her phone out of her pocket, spinning it around in her hand. She hesitated. Sipping her coffee, she paced up and down the hallway. Then she decided and flipped open her phone.

Dr. Huang drove to the hospital as soon as he heard about Hannah. First of all, he was very worried about the little girl. Second, Olivia. As he walked into the building, he saw her standing next to the coffee machine. She was talking on the phone and he couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation.

'Yeah, Mrs. Lane?

This is Olivia Benson; I'm a detective at the NYPD.

Yeah... this is concerning her….

Not too good, she's in a coma.

Yes, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about…

No, but I…

But I can…

Yes.

Yeah, I understand that…

Well, no…

No, I know I don't have that.

I know, but…

Will you just listen for a second! I want to adopt Hannah!'

Dr. Huang's eyes grew big. He didn't expect her to actually try and make it happen. He walked up to Olivia, who had lowered her phone now. She rubbed her temples and sighed.

'Are you okay?' he asked her gently.

Olivia held her phone close to him. 'Listen, they're laughing.' She sounded so bitter. 'They're actually fucking laughing at me.'

Huang motioned to the chairs. 'Sit down, Olivia.'

She picked up her coffee and started drinking it slowly again. 'You think I'm an idiot, don't you.'

He smiled. 'No, I don't.'

She didn't believe him. 'But?' Huang looked at her, 'There is a 'but'…' she said again.

'Do you know what you're getting into?' Dr. Huang tried carefully. 'She'll be scarred for life after everything that has happened. And she hasn't even hit puberty yet…'

'Yeah I know, George.' Olivia said impatiently.

'You need to realize this, Olivia. She'll need to learn things other children already know: how to live in a house, go to school, social skills and the list goes on.'

'I do realize that.' Olivia said passionately, 'I just can't let that little girl down again. I can't be yet another adult leaving her. They'll put her up for adoption, she'll never be adopted and she'll run away again. Once back on the streets it's a matter of time, expected age of 15. I just really think she cannot take another blow like that.'

'I agree.' Olivia turned to the doctor, surprised. 'I mean she cares about you a lot. During my sessions with her she let me know, in her own inconspicuous way. She even drew quite a few pictures of you.' Olivia had to smile at that. 'She has some serious abandonment and trust issues, but the thing she has to learn most of all, is love. I mean she's young, if she feels safe and loved she can still overcome a lot.'

'Sometimes I feel like she is mine, you know?' Olivia's voice broke and she looked away.

'Then I will help you. I'll help you with ASC and guide you and Hannah through it all.'

'They told me I'm not fit to be a mother.'

Dr. Huang shook his head, 'With me backing you up, it'll be a lot easier.'

Olivia tried to smile at him gratefully.

'How is she doing?' Huang asked.

'She might not make it.'

'Will you?'

Olivia laughed, 'I'll be fine.'

'You always are, right?' Dr, Huang smiled as well.

She nodded, as she got up. As long as Hannah is, she thought.

* * *

**Thank you all for the support :)**


	18. Revelations

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 18: Revelations

'It really would be healthy for you to go home and rest for a while.' The doctor tried convincing Olivia for what felt like the hundredth time this week. 'You've been here for days now.'

Elliot had tried as well, even Fin, Munch and the Captain had come, but none could get her to leave the hospital. Elliot was the only one who could get her to leave the bed for a while, or to get her to sleep for an hour in a chair as he watched Hannah. Still, Olivia looked dead tired.

'I'm fine.' She brushed off the doctor. He didn't even bother trying to explain to her again that it was pointless sitting here: Hannah wouldn't wake up.

Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose as another wave of fatigue washed over her. On the bedside table next to Hannah was a book: Peter Pan. Munch had bought it for her and Olivia had started reading it to her. She could understand why Hannah liked these stories. Olivia could see her dreaming of Neverland as she was sleeping rough. She'd look up to the skies of New York and see Captain Hook's pirate ship floating by. If there ever was a real Lost Boy, it was this little girl right here.

Olivia took her hand. 'I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I want to tell you something.' She whispered, leaning closer to her.

She wanted to tell Hannah so many things. Words that had never crossed her lips. Stories that no one knew of. She buried her head in Hannah's hair for a second, just to calm herself.

'I can't imagine what you've been through all these years. All the abuse and neglect on the streets. Never knowing if you're going to survive another day. No one can imagine that kind of life growing up.' She inhaled deeply,

'But most of all, no one can imagine the loneliness. The idea of not being loved and the fear of never knowing what love is. I can understand that you think everyone will always leave you and that's why I'm telling you this. I do remember the loneliness. I thought I couldn't be loved, and I haven't forgotten what it feels like to never have a real family.' Olivia drew another quivering breath, 'And it hurt.' She whispered with a broken voice, as a single tear spilled down her cheek.

'It hurt so much and I never ever want you to feel that way again, not even for a second. I promise you I will take care of you. You and me, we will fight the system together and I will be your family if you want me to. But please, baby, you have to wake up.'

As she cried, Olivia lay down her head next to Hannah's. She was scared to hurt her, so she traced a single finger over her forehead, down the bridge of her nose and over her lips.

She must have been asleep for hours, because when she woke up it was light again. Underneath her, Olivia felt something stirring and immediately her head shot up. First it was just Hannah's hand moving, but soon her eyelashes started fluttering as well.

Olivia stroked her hair carefully, 'Sweetie?'

Hannah opened her eyes and felt her head where she was injured. She winced as she touched the wound. 'Fuck.'

Olivia laughed, once again her eyes filled with tears. That was happening a lot these days…

'What are you laughing at?' Hannah sounded weak, it was hard to even make out the sound, but still very much like her own self.

'I can't believe you woke up from a coma, and the first thing you say is 'Fuck'!

Hannah wriggled around a little to get more comfortable and facing Olivia. 'You have a better suggestion for something to say when you wake up from a coma?'

Olivia rested her face on the bed, inches from Hannah's. 'No not really,' she smiled, 'Welcome back, kiddo.'

* * *

**Just thought I'd write another chapter quick to put your minds at ease. Please, review!**


	19. Recovery

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 19: Recovery

Weeks had gone by and Hannah was still in the hospital. It was mid-February by now, and she'd probably be there a while longer. She'd been deprived of oxygen for quite a while when she'd had that chain wrapped around her neck in the cellar, so the doctors had feared brain damage. Also, her head wound and the other wounds took a long time to heal. Dr. Huang visited every few days for the healing of her other scars.

Munch, who had apparently been an avid reader as a kid himself, took it upon himself to bring her books. He'd borrow them at the local library, picking them out with care, and she'd finish them in a few days. When she was too tired to read them for herself, which happened a lot, the detectives took turns in reading to Hannah. They still had to work of course, but they came to visit whenever they could. Fin would keep her up to date about the sports games she couldn't watch, Cragen tried to get her to do some schoolwork at least and Elliot sneaked in candy for her, even though it was against hospital policy. Even Alex visited from time to time. Olivia, when she wasn't working, practically lived at the hospital.

Hannah sometimes pretended they were her family. Her own little dysfunctional mismatched family. She didn't know any better, and she liked this. They took care of her and it felt safe. But she'd never tell them that.

'Is there still snow outside?' Hannah hated the fact that she couldn't see out the window from where her bed was standing.

'Yeah…' Elliot replied, 'but it'll be gone when you get released from hospital.'

'Feels like I've been here forever.' She sighed.

'I know,' Elliot smiled at her comfortingly, 'but soon you can try and beat me at basketball again.'

Hannah was happy she was able to lie on her back again. Lying on her stomach all the time was far more boring. At least now she was able to watch movies or do other stuff.

'I brought you a movie my kids watch all the time.' He pulled out a DVD case.

Hannah got curious at once, 'What is it?'

'Finding Nemo'

Hannah looked at him blank.

'You've never heard of Finding Nemo!?' Elliot called out in disbelieve.

Hannah giggled and looked at the case, 'No… But, I've seen this weird looking fish around…'

'Around town?'

She rolled her eyes, 'On posters and toys and stuff!'

'Well, the weird looking fish is very cute, just watch the movie.'

Hannah did enjoy the movie as she watched it with Elliot. Most of all, she liked the turtle, even though she kept on saying he was on drugs. After the movie was already done, Fin walked in. Elliot hopped off the bed where he'd been laying to watch the movie with Hannah.

'When does baseball season start?' Hannah asked for the hundredth time.

'Not until April!' Fin said again.

Hannah wriggled around a little, looking grumpy, 'I'm bored.'

'Which one is your favorite player again?' Elliot wanted to know.

'She likes the little one.' Fin replied at once, 'that Asian outfielder.'

'He's good!' Hannah cried out in her defense.

'He's tiny!' Fin laughed.

Elliot looked confused. 'Who?'

Hannah sighed, 'You watch way too much Football. Ichiro! Yeah, he's kinda small, but he won the game stealing two bases the other day! He's better than Soriano for sure!'

'Hey, I like Soriano!' Fin said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

'I thought Cano was a strong player for the Yankees…' Elliot mumbled to himself.

'Yeah, he is, but I like Derek Jeter better though.'

Elliot laughed at her response and professional face, 'Hey, you're the expert.'

Fin picked up the Finding Nemo DVD and smiled to himself.

'So what would you two say if I told you I was a Red Sox fan?' Elliot joked.

'Get out!' both Fin and Hannah shouted in unison, with serious faces.

Another reason why Olivia spent so much time at the hospital was because of Hannah's nightmares. She'd told Olivia she'd always had them, but they became worse after the shooting in the cellar. Actually, both Elliot and Olivia had difficulty shaking the images of what happened down there. At first the hospital staff tried to discourage her staying over. When that didn't work, at all, they offered Olivia the bed in the same room that was empty most of the time.

It sort of went the same way each night. Hannah would start mumbling in her sleep. Soon she'd be thrashing around and even screaming. When Olivia had woken her up, it always took a while to get her back to planet earth. But what Olivia hated the most, was when Hannah cried in her sleep. She'd talked to Dr. Huang about that, and he'd been worried about that too: Hannah never cried. That was very unnatural for a little girl, especially in her situation, but they'd never see her cry once. So obviously her crying in her sleep was a way to let her emotions out, but it wasn't the right one.

'Tell me about this drawing you did the other day.' Olivia pulled out a piece of paper. She'd noticed it helped best to talk about something else.

'It's Father Michael, playing basketball.' Hannah explained.

'And what's that in the corner?'

'O, that's Nemo.' Hannah grinned.

'Why's there a fish in the corner of a basketball court?' Olivia couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

'Dunno, I drew Father Michael first, and me and Elliot watched the movie and it was cool, so I added Nemo.' Hannah shrugged, looking up at Olivia.

Olivia had an arm around her and was stroking her hair. 'You like Elliot?'

'Yeah, but not like you do!'

Olivia was shocked. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You know… But I bet he's a cool dad.'

'I bet he is.' Olivia nodded.

'You know, there's a movie out about baseball.' Olivia said.

'There is?' Hannah got excited at once.

'Yeah, it's called 42. Wanna go see it? They're playing it at the hospital cinema downstairs.' Olivia's eyes were twinkling and Hannah looked up, confused.

'I'm not supposed to leave the bed…' Hannah said, leaning into Olivia.

'I know,' Olivia whispered back, 'but there's not a chance in hell you haven't sneaked out already, at least once.'

'True.'

'So, let's go! You're not scared, right?'

Hannah scoffed, 'Watch a professional, woman.'

Olivia laughed and lifted her off the bed. Before they left the room, they stuck their head around the corner, just to make sure the doctors didn't see them. As they tiptoed through the halls, Olivia giggled. She hadn't done something like this since she was eight.

'Shhhh' Hannah reprimanded her.

'O, sorry.' Olivia whispered. Then she looked at Hannah again. A big grin had formed on her face.

'I have an idea,' the little girl said, very proud.

'O, God…' Olivia groaned.

Hannah turned to face her, 'Well how else are we gonna get passed the doctors post next to the elevator?' And when Olivia didn't answer straight away, added, 'yeah, I didn't think so.'

She checked the halls one more time. Then she grabbed Olivia and pushed her into a storage room. Before Olivia could protest, Hannah put her little hand over her mouth and hissed for her to be quiet and not move. Too baffled to resist, Olivia sat there as Hannah disappeared again. A few moments later Hannah came back with some clothes in her hands.

'Where'd you get those?' Olivia wanted to know, with big eyes.

'Found them.' Hannah said sarcastically, 'now put them on.'

Olivia put on the clothes and saw they were a doctors uniform. Hannah took her hand and led her to the end of the hallway. There she pulled out a wheelchair and sat in it.

'Okay, listen,' she instructed Olivia, 'Just look confident, like you belong here, okay?'

'You know I am a detective.' Olivia pretended to sulk, 'I have gone undercover before.'

When they passed the post, Olivia greeted them with confidence and everything went smooth all the way down. They dumped the wheelchair in another storage room, with the clothes, and headed for the cinema.

The movie was a big hit. Hannah loved it. She even cheered in her seat when Jackie Robinson hit the ball out of the park. The sneaking back in went, if possible, even smoother than the sneaking out.

'Did I do good?' Olivia asked Hannah with a smile.

'You were okay.' Hannah said approvingly. 'You need to practice more.'

'Tomorrow we have to behave again.' Olivia tried to look strict.

Hannah looked disappointed, 'I figured…'

'I am a cop, honey.' Olivia said as she tucked Hannah in.

She's started to get drowsy, 'Tonight was fun though.' And then she fell asleep.

* * *

**I try to write as often as I can, now that school has started again. I hope I do not disappoint!**


	20. Benson

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 20: Benson

At the beginning of March, Hannah was still in the hospital. She was doing fine, her head wound had healed, but she just had to stay under observation.

Hannah was bored. Seriously, bored. Staying in one place, let alone one bed, all the time, wasn't for her. And Olivia would find out pretty fast.

'Where's your kid this time?' The doctor walked up to Olivia, as she came walking in through the door.

'I don't know, you're the one housing her here.' Olivia was confused. This time? She wondered vaguely…. 'She's in her bed, I presume.'

The doctor sighed heavily, 'She's not, and it's time for her check-up.'

Olivia began to get a little bit worried. 'When did you last see her?'

She quickened her pace up the stairs to Hannah's floor.

'Don't you have nurses who keep an eye on the kids?'

All these images came flooding back from the night at the cellar. Olivia felt her heart beating in her chest and panic was rising in the pit of her stomach.

Then all the panic faded as she saw Hannah standing in the middle of a hallway on the kids' floor of the hospital. She was holding a prosthetic leg and was apparently using it as a baseball bat. Another kid in a wheelchair was pitching, with what looked like rolled up bandages. There were kids everywhere on invented bases, cheering her on, as Hannah was about to hit the bandages out of the park.

'One strike, three balls.' A little girl commented, with her back turned to Olivia.

'Come on, Hannah!' A boy called out, 'Hit me in!'

Hannah looked very concentrated. She had her baseball cap on backwards and was blowing bubbles with her chewing gum. But as she picked up the prosthetic leg to swing, the doctor jumped forward.

'HANNAH!' he was furious and his eyes seemed all bloodshot. Right at that moment Elliot came up the stairs as well, and saw nothing but chaos, a bunch of kids staring at a very angry doctor and Hannah who had turned around with a prosthetic leg in her hands.

'I'm guessing all this is your kid's doing?' He whispered in Olivia's ear.

Olivia sighed, suppressed a smile, and turned to face Elliot, nodding.

The doctor took the leg roughly out of Hannah's hands. 'Where did you get this?' he asked, sounding impatient.

Hannah blew another bubble, and when it exploded it covered half her face in gum. 'It was just lying around.'

'Our prosthetics cannot just be found on the floor,' he emphasized, 'And they are certainly not for the use of baseball!' Hannah and all the others giggled at the doctor's angry facial expressions.

'You gotta be kidding me,' Elliot whispered, covering his mouth to keep from laughing, 'She was playing baseball with that leg?'

Olivia snorted as she tried to hold back her giggles. The doctor turned around to face her, with despair written all over his face. Both detectives put on their serious faces, but failed miserably.

'O, whatever, just go to your room.' The doctor commanded Hannah. Then he turned to all the other kids, 'At least half of you are not allowed out of your beds either. I suggest you go back to them now!'

'Wait, wait, wait a second.' Hannah stopped them, 'Can we just finish the game? You go back downstairs and wait just a little longer. I mean, I was just about to hit a grand slam!'

'No. You. May. Not.' The doctor fumed, 'Now go!'

'Fine…' Hannah slowly walked back to her room, dragging her feet.

'And give me those bandages!'

'Fine!'

Bandages came flying out from the room and it sent both detectives into another fit of laughter.

'You think this is funny, Miss Benson?'

'It's Detective Benson.' Olivia tried to compose herself again.

'Your girl is causing more and more trouble every day. She keeps running off!' He made a desperate hand gesture, which made it only harder for Olivia to not laugh.

Elliot noticed and jumped in, 'We're very sorry, Doc, we'll talk to her and keep an eye on her. You have my word.'

'Thank you,' he sighed, 'first sensible thing I've heard all day.' Then he briskly walked off.

Hannah was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, with a very dark look on her face.

'Don't bother…' She grumbled as they came walking in.

Olivia sat down next to her, 'If you don't want us lecturing you, then don't run off.'

'You laughed!' Hannah said, lighting up a little bit.

'Did not!' Olivia said in fake shock. Elliot looked at Hannah and mouthed a 'She did!'.

Hannah giggled and said, 'Yeah you did, you even snorted.'

'A lady never snorts.' Olivia crossed her legs and sat up straight.

'Exactly!' Elliot said, and it took Olivia quite a while to figure that one out. But before she could react, Alex came walking in, with a look of concern on her face.

'Wassup!' Hannah called out.

'Hey, kid.' Alex said with a small smile, 'Olivia, I need to talk to you. Now!'

Outside, Olivia looked concerned as well. 'Alex, what's going on?'

'You told the doctor that you were Hannah's legal guardian?' Alex hissed, making sure none of the nurses could hear her.

'Yeah, I plan on being that!'

'But you're not!' Alex emphasized, 'And when they find out you're in a lot of trouble. All this information shouldn't have been given to you and a lot of decisions weren't yours to make!'

'But who's then?' Olivia felt herself getting anxious.

'By the state.' Alex explained, 'She's under the custody of the state now, and therefor under the custody of ACS.'

Olivia just looked at Alex with desperation in her eyes. 'She can't go back there, Alex.'

'I know…' Alex sighed.

'She's doing so good now!' Olivia continued, 'She's becoming more and more free of what happened every day and she'll close up as soon as she feels threatened.'

'I know that, Olivia, that's why you should have let me handle things. I know what I'm doing you know.' Alex snapped.

'I'm sorry, Alex, you're right.'

'I'll talk to the judge again.' Alex said the word 'again' very slowly, 'and see if she'll make you Hannah's legal guardian.'

Olivia smiled at her gratefully.

'But,' Alex warned, 'ACS has to agree, which will be a lot harder after your little stunt.'

'I know the drill, I'll tell them I'm sorry and not go against them in family court.'

Alex nodded. That was exactly the way to go about things.

'Dr. Huang said he'd help. That he'd speak for me.' Olivia said after a while.

'That's good.' Alex nodded.

'I'm sorry, Alex.'

'Don't tell me that, tell Hannah!'

'I don't want to bother her with all the formalities, she's had so much on her mind as it is.' Olivia bit her lip.

'I don't want this girl hurt, as much as you do,' Alex said in her usual professional voice, 'So please, keep your feelings in check, and follow the law.' Her expression softened a little, 'and help that little girl.'

Olivia squeezed her shoulder and thanked her. As Alex left, she walked back in the room. Elliot and Hannah were playing catch, throwing the bandages across the room.

'Great role model you are.' Olivia commented.

'You're the one to talk,' Hannah threw back, 'What about the other night, with the wheelchair and the movie a-' Olivia ran over and covered Hannah's mouth with her hand. 'Not. Another. Word.' She laughed.

Elliot threw up his hands. 'Hey, I wanna know too!'

Hannah looked at Olivia and then to him, 'Sorry, no can do. It's a secret.'

'Women…' he sighed and sat down on the bed.

'What did Alex want to talk to you about?' Hannah asked. Olivia hesitated for a moment, but Hannah said at once, 'Don't lie.'

Olivia looked into her big brown eyes that were staring straight into hers. 'She wanted to talk about who'd be your guardian.'

'Who's my guardian now?'

'The state.'

'Meaning… ACS.' Hannah understood at once. She didn't look happy.

Olivia took in a deep breath. 'I want to be your legal guardian, but only if you want to.'

Hannah's eyes went back and forth, from Elliot to Olivia. Then she asked, 'Legal guardianship is only for a little while, right?'

'Until you get adopted.' Elliot explained.

'I won't.' Hannah said matter-of-factly.

Olivia didn't know what to do with Hannah's comment. 'But would you like me to be your guardian?'

'Yeah...' she said carefully, 'I really don't want to go back to ACS. But only if it's for a little while… But I'll still see you, right?' Pleading eyes looked up at Olivia, 'I mean, after I'm gone and don't live with you anymore.'

'Of course, sweetie, but I don't understand.' Both detectives were confused now, 'Where do you want to go after you stayed with me?'

'I'll probably end back on the streets.' Hannah said in a low voice, 'Got no where to go and I'm not staying at some home.'

'But why do you want to leave after a while then?'

'Because!' Hannah couldn't explain, even though she felt so passionately about it. 'Because if I stay with you for too long you'll get sick of me!'

Olivia shook her head and even Elliot looked at the little girl with sadness in his eyes.

'You may think I'm cute now,' Hannah continued, 'but what if you sign up for this and change your mind! You can't just trade me back in, you know!'

'I know, babe.'

'What if you regret it later!' Hannah was getting frustrated, because Olivia didn't seem to understand.

'I won't.'

'You don't know that…'

'I do,' Olivia cupped Hannah's face to capture her eyes, 'And you know what? You're right, I don't want to be your legal guardian.'

Hannah looked down. 'See…'

'I want to adopt you.' Olivia said, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Elliot felt almost guilty for being there. It felt like such a private moment. He'd never seen Olivia like this before, she seemed so sure and so vulnerable: two things that didn't come together too often in Olivia Benson. But he liked it, it looked good on her.

Hannah was quiet for the first time all day, but only for a little while. 'You want me… to be your kid?'

'Yeah, baby, I do.' Olivia smiled at her,' But only if you want to.'

Hannah just nodded, numb. This is weird, was all she could think. Then she jumped up on Olivia's lap and hugged her for a long time. Very weird…

Olivia held her little girl and felt totally happy. She'd made the right decision.

Then Hannah let go and said, 'So, all we have to do now is fight in court, right?'

Elliot smiled, 'You sound like a little Benson already.'

'Yeah, we do,' Olivia smiled as well, 'but it's going to be hard. ACS doesn't like me very much right now and the adopting agency found me unfit as a mother. But that just means we need to fight a little harder.'

'You got in trouble again?' Hannah asked, pretending to be shocked.

'Yeah!' Elliot laughed, 'Maybe the world's not ready for you two together. I know that doctor wasn't, with him yelling at both of you.'

'He didn't yell at me.' Olivia corrected him.

'He did,' Hannah giggled, 'because you snorted.'

Olivia threw up her hands in despair. 'I do not snort!'

* * *

**Btw, I wanted to thank all my readers, now that I have over a 100 reviews! Like, wow! :D each and every one of them make me so happy, so please, keep reviewing :)**


	21. Judgement

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 21: Judgement

It was the day of Hannah's release and once again she was nowhere to be found. Olivia had come to pick her up and found yet another nurse on the verge of a burnout.

'She was in her room a second ago.' She whined.

Olivia, who had her scary detective skills to rely on, sighed and marched off to the hall in the middle of the children's floor. There she asked a nurse if she could speak over the intercom.

'You're not allowed, hospital policy.' The bored-looking nurse said, never looking up at Olivia.

'You know the little girl with the big mouth? Hannah? I've come to take her home.'

'O, sweet Jesus,' the same nurse said in a thick southern accent, 'Please, use it. We haven't had a quiet moment since she arrived.'

Olivia frowned, 'Don't any of you actually like her?'

'I do.' A sweet looking young nurse said, choosing her words carefully 'but she can be a bit of a handful.'

'Truth is, we'll probably miss her once she's gone.' A male nurse said, and Olivia smiled. It was like that with Hannah. She annoyed you, and then all of a sudden you'd find yourself missing her.

Olivia reached over the desk and grabbed the microphone. She cleared the throat before talking. Then she put on her most intimidating face and it echoed through in her voice, as Olivia's words boomed down the halls of the entire floor,

'Hannah! Get your ass back in your room. Right. Now! Or I'm gonna send you off to world's strictest catholic boarding school that me and Cragen picked out!' Olivia pulled back and then quickly added, 'The one where the students have to wear pleated skirts…'

The nurse nodded approvingly, 'Girl, you sound like a momma already.'

As Olivia was walking back to Hannah's room, the little girl just came skidding around the corner. She slid down the hall on her socks and almost fell over doing so.

'I was just on my way back…' Hannah made her excuses quickly.

'Sure you were,' The detective said sarcastically, hands at her hips.

Hannah looked at her feet, 'I'm here now…' She looked up hopefully, through her eyelashes.

'Yeah?' Olivia asked, amused.

'I mean look at me!' Hannah said with big eyes, pointing as her socks. She was wearing nothing but big white socks, boxer shorts and Olivia's police academy shirt. 'Do I look like a pleated skirts kinda girl?'

Olivia just cracked up and couldn't stop.

'I'm fucking serious!'

'I know, babe,' Olivia pushed her into her room, 'I don't think that kind of school would fit you anyways.'

'I need to jump on the bed one last time, as my farewell!' Hannah called out as she hopped up on the bed.

'Get dressed at the same time then.' she threw Hannah her pants. Olivia tried to remember if she had this much energy as a nine year old. Maybe she had. She remembered being quiet in class, but wanting to play every sport there was, as a kid. She remembered not being allowed to make too much noise in the house, and then shouting from the top of her lungs as soon as her mother had left. She remembered running home through the snow, just to get away from those girls at school and to get her heart racing again in the cold air…

'Why do you always zone out like that?' Hannah stared at her.

Olivia shrugged, 'Because I have to wait for you!' she joked.

'I'm done.' The little girl stood there with her arms full of clothes and the book she got from Munch on top.

'Don't you have a bag?' Olivia started, 'No, of course you don't… Put it in here.' She grabbed a plastic bag and they stuffed Hannah's new belongings inside. It wasn't much.

'So, where am I going?' Hannah asked.

The door flew open and Mrs. Lane was standing there, 'You're not taking her.' She stared intensely at Olivia.

'Neither are you.' Olivia said decisively.

'She falls under the custody of the state!' She took a step closer to Olivia.

'There's no point putting her in a home, when she can stay with me.' Olivia was getting angry.

'You're breaking the law, detective,' their noses were almost touching now, 'Again…'

Hannah was just staring from one to the other. 'Bitchfight…' she whispered to herself.

'You're not the one who decides on her guardian.' Olivia smirked.

'No, but right now the state is, until the judge decides to change that.'

Hannah threw down her things and stepped in 'Listen, lady, I'm not going with you. If I go anywhere, apart from the streets, it's to Liv's place.'

The social worker bent down and said, 'You're going to have to take that up with the judge, little lady.'

'Okay,' Hannah said confidently. She turned to Olivia who nodded as well, saying 'Let's go.'

Both Bensons marched out, and the social worker, who was somewhat taken back by their immediate reaction, had no choice but to follow them.

When they arrived at court, Hannah wanted to barge right in, but Alex stopped her in front of the judge's chambers.

'Wow, what are you doing here?' Alex had just been working, when she'd seen the little girl running around all of a sudden.

'I have to talk to the judge.' Hannah explained, as she tried to push passed the ADA again.

Alex stopped her again. 'Judge Donnelly? She's talking to someone else right now, you can't just walk in.'

'She's right, we have to wait.' Olivia had finally caught up with Hannah.

'You're not letting that weird-ass woman take me, right?' she seemed insecure.

'No,' Alex sat Hannah down at a bench outside the chambers, 'that's why we have to do everything right, so that the judge will like you and Olivia and she'll make Olivia your guardian.' Alex explained, 'You understand?'

'Not cause any trouble.' Hannah summed up.

'Yes.' Alex stared at Olivia, who was nodding and said, 'Same goes for you!' Olivia looked at her with surprise written all over her face. 'Yeah, keep your mouth shut unless the judge asks you something, but apologize for going over her head regarding Hannah's guardianship. And don't get angry with that social worker in there, just bite your tongue!'

'Yes, Alex, I can do it…' Then Olivia playfully shoved Hannah, who thought it was funny that Olivia was getting lectured for once, 'Wipe that grin off your face.'

'And you,' Alex turned to Hannah now. She looked very stern, so Hannah got serious at once, which made Olivia laugh. 'Sit up when you talk to the judge. Get rid of your gum. Do not swear, at all! Don't touch anything. Don't roll your eyes, ever. Don't talk back or make any smart comments, not to the social worker either. Just tell the judge, when she asks, that you really want to stay with Olivia. And when she asks you why you don't want to stay at a home, don't say anything rude, just say you like Olivia better, okay? And take off that hat!'

Hannah just nodded; she looked a bit scared now, with her cap in her hands.

'We need to convince the judge you're equipped to take care of a child,' Alex turned to Olivia again, 'Tell her you'll start Hannah in school as soon as possible, that you live in a child friendly environment and… Just make it all sound beautiful!'

'Alex, we'll be fine.' Olivia reassured her.

'The judge is gonna have my ass for even trying this…' Alex mumbled.

She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door twice.

'Enter.'

* * *

**What did you think ;)**


	22. Home

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 22: Home

'Alex, is this really necessary right now?'

O, shit, she's in a bad mood, Alex thought. Elizabeth Donnelly was a judge, but also Alex' supervisor. Alex had known her for years and she was a great at what she did, but strict. She knew exactly whatever stunt Alex' was trying to pull and when she tried it.

'Yes, Judge Donnelly, I'm afraid it is.' She tried to sound as certain as possible. 'It's about the Hannah-case and her legal guardian…'

'I believe we've spoken about this before, Alex.' The judge interrupted her, without looking up from her papers.

'Detective Benson wants to become her legal guardian.'

Judge Donnelly seemed annoyed. 'Right now?'

'Hannah was released from hospital today.' Alex explained, with a bit of uncertainty slipping into her voice.

The judge nodded, 'Yes, so she goes to one of the homes appointed by the state, for now.'

Alex looked over her shoulder for a second, where Hannah was waiting outside. The judge saw it at once. 'They're here.'

'I couldn't really stop them.'

'Alex….' Judge Donnelly sighed, 'Just bring them in.' She decided after a moment.

Hannah walked in first. Olivia had her hand on Hannah's back as she came in second. She guided Hannah to sit down and stood behind her chair. Mrs. Lane strode in arrogantly and sat down in the other chair. Judge Donnelly looked at the social worker for a second, with eyebrows raised, but decided not to say anything.

'Detective Benson, would you mind explaining yourself?' The judge demanded at once. Mrs. Lane looked at Olivia expectantly.

'Hannah was released today and I'd like to become her legal guardian, so she can come home with me straight away.' Olivia tried to speak as calmly as possible.

'The state's been appointed as her guardian.' The judge sighed.

'But that's only temporarily. I want to become her legal guardian anyway, why not do it now. It'll save time.' Alex winced at Olivia's sharp tone.

'I don't just work for you, detective.' The judge threw back at Olivia, equally sharp.

Olivia looked down when Alex' warning gaze met hers. 'I understand.'

'Judge Donnelly,' the social worker started sweetly, 'Miss Benson here has broken the law already, telling the doctor that Hannah was under her custody and she has been fighting us all the way, while all we've been trying to do, is take care of the girl.'

'Right…' Hannah muttered under her breath.

The judge ran a hand through her blonde hair. 'It all comes back to you, Hannah.'

'Yes, ma'am.' Olivia's eyes grew wide at Hannah's polite response and Alex' as well; they hadn't expect that.

Judge Donnelly thought the same thing apparently, 'O, so you can behave? Because when I first heard of you and got your file, there was quite a list of charges filed against you. You are certainly not the angel you seem today.' A pair of brown eyes was just staring at her, 'but taking your circumstances into consideration, I decided you were not to be prosecuted.'

'Thank you.' Hannah said softly.

'Where do you want to stay?'

'At Liv's, I mean, Detective Benson's place.' Hannah replied at once.

'Why don't you want to go to a home?'

Hannah bit her lip and looked to Alex for a second. 'Because I-I like it better at Olivia's.' she stumbled.

The Judge's eyes went from Alex to Olivia. 'What's going on here?'

'Counselor, your role is to be unprejudiced and uphold the law!' She practically yelled at Alex.

'I am!'

'Then why do you keep asking me for favors when it comes to this girl? And why does this interview sound rehearsed, when you just told me you couldn't stop them from coming here? You keep wanting me to make exceptions for her!'

'Please!' Olivia budded in, 'she's not like any of the other cases you've ever had!'

Alex mentally slapped her forehead at Olivia's outburst. This could go catastrophically wrong.

Olivia continued shouting, 'She's stayed with me before she was in the hospital and she feels safe there! Why make things more difficult and take her away again? She was abused, then kidnapped and had one of the most traumatic experiences a child could possibly have. Don't make it worse!'

Judge Donnelly looked at Olivia in shock.

'I really want to stay with Olivia.' Hannah whispered and they all looked at her, 'I promise I'll be good. You'll never get my file on your desk again. Olivia'll teach me how to behave. Just don't take me away again, please!'

Olivia put one arm around Hannah's shoulders, as she tried to hold back her own tears.

The judge hesitated as she stared into Hannah's brown eyes. She turned to Mrs. Lane for a second, who said, 'it's just their way of bending the law to their own will again.'

'Liz, please,' Alex tried one last time, 'I know it is my job to uphold the law, but the only thing this little girl is, is a victim. She needs to feel safe to heal and she wants to stay with Olivia. You know how special that is? Before, all she wanted was to run away again back to her street life! Please, give this a chance.'

'You won't run away again from detective Benson's home?' The judge asked Hannah sternly.

'I swear on Derek Jeter's mother, ma'am.' She said at once.

Hannah, shut your big mouth, Olivia thought. She was almost dying inside because of the tension. She looked at Alex', who seemed even more high-strung than usual. Mrs. Lane just seemed annoyed by all of this. Olivia tried to read the judge's face, but couldn't really make out what she was thinking…

'Okay, I'll have someone get the papers ready. Detective Benson, you'll be Hannah's legal guardian from now on.'

Hannah cheered, jumped up and threw over the chair doing so.

'O, shit. I'm sorry, ma'am.' Realizing she'd said 'shit' as well, Hannah just covered her mouth with her hands. The judge shook her head, but had to try her best not to crack a smile.

'Detective, you'll have to change your attitude towards ACS. The state will still be in charge of Hannah's welfare and check up on you. Also, Hannah will be put up for adoption.'

'Yes, ma'am,' Olivia said as well, 'She won't need a new psychologist, Dr. Huang has been working with her for months now.'

'I agree,' Judge Donnelly nodded, 'we should make the least changes as possible for Hannah, I'm sure Dr. Huang would agree.' Seeing Hannah hopping up and down she smiled at her, 'You can go now.'

Hannah sprinted out, then turned in the door, 'Thank you, ma'am!'

When Olivia came out of the judge's chambers as well, Hannah jumped into her arms straight away. Olivia spun around a few times with the little girl in her arms, then she just stood there holding this child. Hannah buried her face in Olivia's hair as the detective put Hannah's cap back on her head.

'Let's go home, kid.' Olivia said and she walked out of the court with Hannah still hanging onto her.

Both Alex and Judge Donnelly had been watching the scene from the judge's chambers.

'You know, a few months back she would never have jumped into someone's arms like that. That asks for a lot of trust.' Alex commented.

'You like her?' the judge asked her.

Alex nodded, 'I like her.'

'Enough to put your job on the line for?' The judge had turned to Alex now and looked her straight in the eye.

Alex returned that gaze, with her usual look of fearlessness, 'I did what I thought was right.'

'I've known you for a long time, Alex' she said carefully, 'and all I want to say is: I hope you're right about this girl.' Then she waited a moment and relaxed a little, 'Because I like her too.'

As Alex walked out, she wanted to do a little victory dance. She still had her job! She knew the risk she'd taken and that it hadn't been her most professional move, but it had worked: Hannah could stay with Olivia. She felt like celebrating, singing, dancing, whatever!

But of course, being Alex Cabot, she just calmly walked out of court, looking graceful and collected as ever.

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**I'm watching the Yankees game myself while uploading this haha. Please, I want your opinions!**


	23. Understanding

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 23: Understanding

'Are you rich?' Hannah asked Olivia out of the blue. They were sitting in a cab and were on their way to Olivia's apartment. Hannah had been a bit quiet, resting her head on Olivia's lap.

'Uhh.. No.' Olivia said. The cabdriver scoffed and both turned to look at him.

'He thinks so.' Hannah said, eyes on the driver.

'You're richer than I am, Lady.' The man reacted.

'Richer than me too.' Hannah nodded.

'I live cheap.' Olivia shrugged.

The cabdriver barked a laugh, 'Well, those days are over now. I'd better sleep with my handbag, with this little thief in your house.'

'I'd mind my own business if I were you.' Olivia said.

He turned and looked at Hannah, 'Don't think I don't know who you are! Everyone in New York knows it. I wouldn't forget that dishonest face in a million years.'

'Just watch the road!' Olivia yelled, while holding Hannah back who was about to jump the driver. 'Just stop here,' She said to the driver, 'Pull over!'

'Okay, okay, fine.' He grumbled. 'That'll be…'

'Take it all!' Olivia threw him a fifty note and walked off.

The detective pushed her hands into her pockets and took big grumpy steps down the road. The little girl had to jog to keep up with her.

'Can't believe that idiot…' Olivia mumbled, mostly to herself.

'You're gonna have to get used to it.' Hannah said. Olivia stopped at once to look at her. 'I mean, he's right! A lot of people know me in this city and they don't like me and you, as a cop, should understand why.' She sounded so grown-up and it scared Olivia.

'It's not fair.' Olivia sighed.

'Life isn't. Get used to it.' Hannah stated in a low voice. Olivia felt as though she was talking to herself, but in a depressed mood. How did a nine year old become the pessimistic version of me, she thought.

So she joked, 'Hey, who's the adult here? I'm the one with the life experience. I should be telling you how to act.'

'I guess…'Hannah said, 'So, you being the older woman, how many men have you been with?'

Olivia's jaw dropped, but she had to smile as well, 'None of your business!'

'Hey! You were the one who felt like you should be the one sharing wisdoms, so share!'

'Nice try…' Olivia took Hannah's hand and they walked down the sidewalk to Olivia's place.

'Fine. When was the first time you kissed a boy?' Hannah smirked at her mischievously.

'What's with all the questions?' Olivia avoided.

'I wanna be a detective when I grow up.' Hannah said sarcastically, 'Now answer me.'

'O, really.' Olivia laughed. But seeing Hannah wouldn't let up she answered, 'I was 14.'

'What was his name?'

'Johnny.'

'Johnny Depp?' Hannah said expectantly.

'I wish!' Olivia shouted as she threw her hands in the air. Hannah laughed at her gesture. 'Now let me ask you something. Why do you want your birthday to be on the full moon?'

'I like the moon. I used to pretend she was my mother.' Olivia looked at this girl, who never ceased to amaze her. 'Because she's always there, you know, every night, so why wouldn't she be there to watch over me?' Hannah explained.

'Yeah, why not.' Olivia smiled. 'We'll just write October 15th as your birthday on your passport, but celebrate it on the full moon. Is that okay?' And Hannah nodded.

After they'd gone inside and Olivia had dumped her stuff, she said to Hannah, 'You know, you'll have to start in school soon.'

'What!?' Hannah shouted in shock, 'Why?'

'All kids have to.'

'Seriously? Which grade? Can't I just do the work Cragen brings me, isn't that enough?' She looked absolutely disgusted by the idea. 'I'm too dumb for school!' She tried next.

Olivia laughed at the idea, 'No, you're not. You may be too smart, but you're definitely not too dumb.'

'Whatever, I can't go if I'm too smart either. I'll make the teachers feel bad.' Hannah looked hopeful.

'You're going. Tomorrow.' There was no arguing with Olivia.

Hannah looked at her with a very dark look on her face. 'Which grade?'

'The school will give you special help for the rest of this year and after the summer, hopefully you'll be able to start in 4th grade.'

'Help with what? I already know how to read and stuff!' She shouted in frustration.

'There are other subjects as well, and you'll have to get used to going to school.' That'll be the hardest part, Olivia thought.

'I have to go every day?' She made it sound like hell.

'Every day.' Olivia repeated slowly with big eyes, also acting like it was the worst punishment a girl could get.

Hannah dropped down onto the couch burying her head in the cushions. Olivia walked over to her and sat down.

'It'll be fun too, you know!'

Hannah made inaudible sound that didn't seem to be a happy one.

'You'll be able to play with other kids every day. They'll have books and let you read there, and… Are you even listening to me?' Olivia took a pillow and hit Hannah's back with.

'Yes! I'm listening.' Hannah's head appeared with her hair sticking up.

'You'll have PE!'

'What's that?'

'You play sports. Maybe even baseball.'

Hannah seemed surprised. 'You do stuff like that in school?'

'Yeah, and they'll teach you music and art as well.' Olivia continued.

'That sounds kinda cool…' But Hannah let her head fall back into the pillows again.

'Then what's wrong, sweetie?' Olivia asked.

'I don't know anything about school.' Hannah exclaimed. It was a bit difficult to hear though, coming from the couch. 'The kids'll think I'm weird and all adults hate me, remember?'

'It'll be…' Olivia started.

'No it won't.' Hannah cut her off. Olivia could almost hear her roll her eyes through the fabric.

'Just be yourself, act around them the same way you do around me, and they'll love you. Like I do.' Hannah didn't react. 'Did you hear me?' Olivia grinned.

'Hmm-mmm' came from the couch.

Olivia reached out and started tickling her sides. 'Yeah? What did I say, huh?'

Hannah started giggling at once and flipped over, 'I heard you!'

'So what did I say?' Olivia asked again, laughing as well.

She wriggled and tried to get away, but that didn't really work. 'Okay, you said you loved me. Now stop!'

Olivia was watching carefully if there was no panic in the little girl's eyes. There wasn't, she was just laughing. 'I'm sorry, what was that?' Olivia joked.

'YOU LOVE ME!' Hannah shouted through her giggles.

Olivia let her go and smiled at Hannah.

'You look kinda happy.' Hannah said.

'I am,' Olivia said, 'because you look kinda happy.'

'That was easy.' Hannah said, with eyebrows raised. After a while she asked, 'Did you like school?'

'I liked to learn things, yeah.' Olivia said, not really answering the question.

Hannah frowned at that, but didn't say anything.

Later that night, Hannah was lying in Olivia's bed. She was still scared to be alone at night, but most of all, there wasn't a room for her yet. Olivia was putting her few clothes in the closet. They hardly took up space.

'Olivia?' So she wasn't asleep. 'Why don't you ever talk about when you were a kid?'

Olivia froze for a second, but had continued doing what she was doing as she answered the question, 'There's not much to tell.'

It was quiet, but Olivia could feel Hannah's eyes burning a hole in her back.

'You should go to sleep, you have school tomorrow.' Olivia said, trying to sound casual.

When she was ready and turned around, she saw Hannah propped up on one elbow, still looking at her. 'What is it?' Olivia asked.

'You know how you always know when I'm lying?' Hannah started and all Olivia could do was nod. 'That's because you're like me. You're a good liar as well, but I can still tell. But the only way you get real good at hiding stuff, is when you have something to hide.' Hannah was just piling up one truth after the other and there was nothing Olivia could do about it.

'So?' was all she could say.

'So,' Hannah continued, 'that's bullshit. There's not nothing to tell, there's too much to tell.'

As Olivia desperately tried to hold back those damn flashbacks, Hannah got up. Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to think of a reply, when she felt Hannah's hand slip into hers. She looked down and smiled at Hannah.

'You wanna sleep here?' Hannah asked her, inviting Olivia into her own bed, 'Then you won't feel alone.'

Olivia cupped Hannah's face and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. 'You really are special.'

'Is that good?'

'Yes,' Olivia said softly as she slid into the bed next to Hannah.

'Don't be sad.' Hannah looked at her. 'I love you.' She emphasized the 'I' and for a second she looked very young.

Olivia just hugged her close, and whispered, 'You were right, it's bullshit.' She'd never even said that to Elliot, even though he probably knew. Then again, no one had ever asked her about her childhood as directly as Hannah just had.

'I know,' Hannah said simply, 'but that's okay. I understand why.'

'You understand a lot...' Olivia thought out loud, 'that's why you're special.'

'You promise school will be fun?' Hannah asked her in a small voice, a few moments later.

'You'll be fine.' Olivia assured her. 'Just take care of yourself like you've always done.' Immediately she regretted what she'd just said, 'I mean, just stand up for yourself! It's probably best if you don't fight or swear like you normally would.'

'I know, that'll get me in trouble,' Hannah looked bored, 'Cragen already explained.'

Olivia laughed, 'You went from no one to a great big overprotective family, kid. Good work…'

Hannah closed her eyes, as she grew tired. 'It feels kinda nice though…'

'It does, doesn't it.' Olivia whispered, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

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	24. School

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 24: School

At the 16th precinct, the detectives Benson and Stabler had just returned from a crime scene. A young woman had been found dead behind a few dumpsters in an alley. She'd been raped with a foreign object, blood was all over her legs, and brutally chocked to death. They came back with the images still fresh in their minds.

'The victim?' Cragen asked, as part of a routine.

'A Jane Doe.' Olivia shook her head.

'No witnesses?'

'No, but we'll do a door-to-door in the neighborhood.' Elliot said, 'And yes, we're all over missing persons.' He added, knowing that would be Cragen's next step.

'Go do your door-to-door, ask if anyone's seen something or heard anything,' Cragen said, 'let's hope the examination of the body gets us anything. Let me know if something comes up.' With that he stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

The door-to-door investigation didn't help much either.

'I never heard nothing!'

'I wasn't here.'

'I live in a cheap apartment building! There are people screaming somewhere all the time!'

'Never seen her in my life…'

'Probably one of the girlfriends from that guy upstairs. They seem to come and go.'

'She's hot! I would have remembered…'

'No! Go away!'

'Go ask the neighbors, they're always the ones making trouble.'

'Wasn't me!' And these were just a few of the useless replies they got.

Around lunch they headed back to the police station. In the car Elliot smiled vaguely as he drove. Olivia looked at him, curious.

'It's just funny,' he said, 'you and a kid.'

Olivia smirked as well, 'Yeah, never saw that one coming…'

'I think no one saw hér coming, no.' Elliot said. Olivia laughed and was quiet again.

'So, how's she doing?' Elliot asked.

'She's doing good,' Olivia said optimistically, 'she's in school now. Her first day of school, ever.'

Elliot nodded as he pulled up to the precinct. 'Gives you a whole new perspective on what worrying is, doesn't it?' He said.

'Yeah...' Olivia sighed.

'Just wait!' Elliot laughed with the experience of a father of four, 'Soon there'll be friends, clothes, curfews, money, baseball troubles in Hannah's case, braces, puberty, grades, high school and then, boyfriends.'

'I'm just trying to survive today, thanks.' Olivia said flatly.

As they were about to share the bad news of no success whatsoever with Cragen, Munch informed them that the morgue had called. Melinda had news. Apparently their vic was raped with a knife, about the size of a Swiss army knife. Still, there was nothing that could help them ID her. Apart from the fact, Melinda said proudly, that their victim was a diabetic.

'That'll narrow it down a lot!' Olivia said. 'Thanks.'

A few hours later Elliot and Olivia were going through Mercy Hospital's records. In a detective's life, two days are never the same.

'Female, around the age of 25, diabetic…' Elliot summed up again, as they searched.

'This is going to take ages,' Olivia sighed.

'It's the only lead we've got.' Elliot said.

'El, about what you said before, don't.'

'Don't do what?' Elliot asked, confused.

'Talk about Hannah's high school. I'm only her legal guardian until she gets adopted or when she gets placed at a foster home.'

'I know.' Elliot said calmly.

'Good. So do I.' Olivia replied. She felt like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Elliot.

'Found it!' Elliot called out all of a sudden. 'Caroline Mathers, age 24, diabetic.'

'I'll call missing persons, see if she comes up.'

She did and about an hour later, their Jane Doe had a name. Family was easily found and after that it seemed to go textbook easy. Jealous ex-boyfriend every time… He even had the bloodstained clothes.

'How did Hannah react to the school?' Dr. Huang asked Olivia as soon as he came in. The whole world seemed to relive their first day of school with Hannah, Olivia thought. Even Fin had asked her if she thought the school would be able to keep Hannah there for an entire day.

'She was quiet.' Olivia said.

'That's a welcome change, I bet.' Huang smiled, 'Don't expect her to keep out of trouble though. This will take a lot of time.'

'O, trust me, I don't.' Olivia said, eyebrows raised.

And right then, Olivia's phone rang.

'Benson.'

Olivia rolled her eyes, as she put down the horn.

'Everything okay?' Elliot asked.

'Hannah got in a fight at school and the teacher wants to talk to me.'

'Go,' Cragen said, 'Munch and Elliot can pick up the perp.'

'Thanks, cap.' But Olivia seemed lost. 'What do I do? Do I get mad at her or not…'

'You'll be fine.' Huang reassured her, 'Do what you always do with kids, you're great with them.'

'Yeah but now I'm actually responsible for her…'

'Just don't swear in front of the teachers.' Elliot said carefully.

'Actually, don't swear at all in front of Hannah.' The doctor added.

Olivia picked up her coat and nodded. 'No swearing…' she repeated to herself, as she walked out.

Walking through that school sure brought back some memories. Public schools were never the most personal of institutions, but this school had agreed to give Hannah extra help. The classes weren't too big either, which was good. Still, Olivia felt sort of bad, leaving the little girl with big eyes with some teacher. She'd looked so lost.

A teacher pointed Olivia to the principal's office. Outside, on a wooden bench, Hannah was sitting, with her feet pulled up and hands wrapped around her legs. The teacher walked up to her, with Olivia following her.

'Hannah,' the teacher started, 'Someone's here to see you.'

'I really don't give a shit…' Hannah said without looking up.

The teacher sighed, held up her hands and Olivia smiled at her apologetically.

'Hey,' Olivia said, after the teacher had left. 'you okay?'

Hannah dropped her legs and looked up in surprise. What are you doing here, her eyes seemed to say.

'What happened?' Olivia asked next.

'Ask the bearded man in the ugly suit, inside.' Hannah grumbled.

'He's called the principal, Hannah.' Olivia said sternly.

'Fine. Go in and ask the principal.' Hannah snapped.

'I'm asking you.'

'I threw a book at that teacher.'

'Why?' Olivia asked.

'She acts like I'm stupid or something!'

The principal stuck his head around the corner. 'Miss Benson?'

'Detective.' Hannah emphasized, looking at him darkly.

'You wait here,' he ordered Hannah, 'Please, come in.' he invited Olivia in with a hand gesture.

A few minutes later, Olivia came back out.

'What did he say?' Hannah asked grumpily. 'He hates me, right?'

'No.'

'Liar.' Hannah whispered without looking at Olivia.

'I swear on Derek Jeter's mother.' Olivia winked.

Hannah tried not to smile at that, hiding her face behind her arms.

'Busted,' Olivia said, 'you smiled.'

She shrugged and got up from the bench. 'Does he want to talk to me, too?'

'He wants to talk to you tomorrow morning, before your lessons start.' Olivia explained.

'They still want me to come back tomorrow?' Hannah asked incredulously.

'Of course!' Olivia asked, 'they're actually impressed by your abilities.'

'My throwing abilities you mean…' They walked down the hall, on their way to the exit.

'Just remember they don't know you yet. She didn't think you were stupid, she actually thought you were very smart. They just have to figure out what your level is on all subjects.'

Hannah nodded, 'I'm sorry…'

'That's okay, baby.' Olivia said as she put her arm around Hannah's neck. 'Just try to be patient with them, okay? Adults need that.'

'I kinda liked school though.' Hannah said, already sounding more cheerful. 'I had some lessons with 3rd grade and we were reading this book and had to write a bit about it. And, O!' Hannah opened her brand new backpack with excitement, 'They got me my own notebook! To write my own stories!'

'That's great!' Olivia smiled at her. 'Can I read them when they're done?'

'Sure.' Hannah actually looked proud and Olivia thought that was the greatest thing ever.

'You'll have to come with me to the precinct now,' Olivia said, 'everyone's been driving me crazy, asking me how you were doing at school. That way you can tell them about it yourself!'

And Hannah nodded enthusiastically.

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**Once again, let me know what you think!**


	25. The squad's pet

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 25: The squad's pet

Hannah actually talked about school like a four year old after her first day. She told the entire squad about what she'd learned and showed her notebook to practically everyone in the building: the security guards, Melinda and everyone at the coffee machine. Until a very confused officer from Homicide showed up with Hannah, saying that he had no idea who this kid was, but apparently she was very happy with her notebook. Hannah stuck out her tongue at him as soon as he had turned his back. But the detectives at the Special Victims Unit wanted to hear all about her day. They gathered around her and listened and promised her not to tell Cragen she'd gotten into a fight with her teacher; she was scared he'd get mad at her.

Elliot could tell she was tired and he saw the same exhaustion in Olivia's eyes, therefor he offered to drive them home. Hannah was used to walking and Olivia sometimes did as well, but this was easier.

'I thought she'd never stop singing 'shut up and drive'.' Elliot said, as he walked with them up the stairs to Olivia's apartment. Hannah had already gone and ran ahead. They could hear her feet stomping up the steps above them.

'Can't believe I used to think that song was just about cars,' Olivia said, 'but I never really listened to the lyrics before…' She laughed at her own ignorance.

Upstairs Hannah had started singing again.

_''…. Can you handle the curves,_

_Can you run all the lights._

_If you can, baby boy,_

_Then we can go all night._

_From zero to sixty,_

_In three point five._

_Baby, you've got the keys,_

_Now shut up and drive!''_

'Not just about cars I think…' Elliot said slowly. He looked at Olivia and laughed. 'Let's hope she doesn't know that.' But Olivia looked at him, obviously doubting that.

'I'm sorry if she annoys you. I know she can be a handful.' Olivia said.

'O, she doesn't,' Elliot said quickly, 'I just really hate that song. Kathleen used to sing that as well. All the time.'

Olivia opened the door and Hannah dropped her bag on the floor, feeling perfectly at home. Olivia did the same with her stuff. Elliot noticed this and suppressed a smile at the similarities between the two. The girl flopped down on Olivia's bed and opened her book.

'Do you want something to drink?' Olivia offered.

'I should go…' Elliot hesitated.

'To Kathy and the kids?' Olivia said.

'No, they're visiting Kathy's mother tonight.'

'Then, stay. Have a beer. You deserve it, after we solved that case in record time.' Olivia opened her fridge.

'Textbook.' Elliot said, as he took the bottle from her, 'Thanks.'

'What're you reading, kid?' He called out to Hannah.

'A book.'

'Don't get smart with me. What book?'

Hannah looked up: he wasn't angry. 'It's called 'Charlie and the chocolate factory'.'

'I used to read that to my kids.' Elliot said, smiling at the memory.

'Did you like it?' Hannah asked.

'Yeah!'

'I do, too. But this Willie Wonka person is really weird…' She continued reading.

'Has ACS come yet, for a checkup?' Elliot asked Olivia.

'No, not yet.' Olivia said, 'They said they'd come some time next week.'

'Hannah sleeps in your bed?'

'Yeah…' she sighed, 'she still gets nightmares every night.'

We all have those, Elliot thought. He still dreamt of his kids, buried under the floorboards and him unable to get to them in time. It was haunting. He knew Olivia had them, as well, but there was no point in making her uncomfortable by saying it out loud.

'She needs a bed of her own, Olivia. This social worker dislikes you and they will grab whatever reason they have to take her away from you. When they see Hannah hasn't even got her own bed, they'll say you're not taking care of her properly.'

Olivia rubbed her forehead. 'You're probably right. She'll have to start sleeping in her own bed sooner or later.'

'Just pretend she does, when ACS comes here. You'll be fine, Hannah's a good actor.' Elliot reassured her.

'Where did I put my beer?' Olivia looked around for it, 'Give me that!' she yelled, grabbing the bottle from Hannah's hands.

'I just wanna taste!'

'Don't even try that trick with the big eyes!' Olivia said, 'You're nine. That means no alcohol for at least another ten years.' Hannah looked angry and bored.

'Alcohol destroys your brain cells.' Elliot explained, sternly.

'Alcohol helps you sleep, that is all I know.' Hannah shouted.

'You don't need help with that, do you?' Olivia said, 'you always sleep in a second.'

'Only because your bed is so soft…' Hannah said, 'I meant outside.'

'But you're not sleeping outside tonight, sweetie.' Olivia said, kneeling down to her.

'We're not mad at you,' Elliot explained, also bending his knees, 'it's just that alcohol is really bad for kids and we want to protect you.'

'Okay.' Hannah said, softly.

'You want me to read to you?' Elliot asked her and Hannah nodded, with a smile forming on her face.

'Okay,' he smiled back, 'I just have to use the bathroom real quick.'

Olivia picked Hannah up and put her on the counter in the kitchen. Olivia looked at her and tucked a strand of hair behind the little girl's ear. 'You wanna hear a secret?' Olivia said to her, 'I'm actually nervous about going back to the principal tomorrow.'

'So am I!' Hannah said, 'I thought he was only scary to kids.'

'O, no. No, he still scares me.'

'Because you got send to the principal's office a lot as a kid?' she smirked.

'Of course not!' Olivia had a look of fake hurt on her face.

'Did you get send to the principal a lot, Elliot?' Hannah asked when he came back.

'Never.' He said with a straight face.

'You both suck at lying…' Hannah hopped off the counter and got her book.

The next morning, Hannah was ready for school an hour before Olivia had even opened her eyes. When she did, she saw Hannah sitting on the bed with her book, fully dressed with her backpack packed.

'Look at the little schoolgirl!' Olivia exclaimed, laughing. 'Are you ready to face the principal?'

Hannah looked up. 'You can hold my hand, that way you won't be scared.'

Maybe it was because Hannah was holding her hand, but the conversation with the principal went fine. He talked to Hannah for a little while about how they planned on helping her get into 4th grade and about how she should behave in school. Hannah nodded obediently at all the rules. Just wait until she has to actually follow them, Olivia thought. After that he wanted to talk to Olivia again and send Hannah off to class. The principal asked her about Hannah's background, but Olivia only told him what she said before: that Hannah came from a problematic background and that she'd never been to school before. She didn't want everyone to know Hannah's business; it could make her feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. He left it at that.

After school Hannah walked to the police building. It wasn't that far and Olivia hadn't found an after-school program yet for her to get into. Besides, she doubted Hannah would agree. With her red backpack bouncing on her back, Hannah strolled into the squadroom again that afternoon.

'What did you do all day?' she asked Olivia.

'Interviewed a lot of people.'

'Bad guys?' Hannah concluded.

'Victims, actually.' Olivia said.

'You need to be interrogating the bad guys.' Hannah said, thinking Olivia was doing it all wrong.

'The victims come here after they've been attacked. We have to write down everything that has happened to them.' Olivia explained.

'We'll get to the bad guys tomorrow.' Elliot promised.

'Good.' Hannah approved.

'Olivia, Elliot!' Cragen came walking out of his office. 'We got a call. A neighbor heard a couple fighting, the wife was screaming her head off, at 12, 45th street.'

'We're on it, Cap.'

Olivia looked at Hannah, but before she could open her mouth Hannah said, 'It's okay. I can read my book.' She really didn't mind.

'See, the perfect child for a police officer.' Cragen smiled. Elliot and Olivia quickly rushed out the door.

'How are you doing?' he asked Hannah. 'No fights in school today?'

She quickly shook her head, shocked for a second that he'd found out after all. 'No, and I did all my schoolwork, but now they gave me even more to do at home.' she seemed annoyed by that.

'It's called homework,' Fin said, 'and it never stops.'

'Not if you become a cop.' Cragen said, staring intently at Fin's mountain of paperwork. He quickly got back to work.

'Start on your homework.' He said to Hannah, 'and come to me if you don't understand or when you're done.'

'What do you have to do?' Fin asked her, after his Captain had left.

'Math.' Hannah sighed. 'And this thing about plants…' she showed Fin her book.

'Coloring these plants is your homework?' he called out, 'man, you're gonna miss this kind of homework when you get older…'

'I have to write down the names as well.'

Half way through her math she got bored and started tapping a rhythm on Olivia's desk with her pencil. Munch looked at her, as she'd started to hum a guitar riff to go with it.

'I know that song.' He said to her, after a while.

'No, you don't.' she laughed.

'How do you know?' Munch turned to face her.

'You're old!'

Munch looked over at Fin with a sigh, who had a big grin on his face. And he asked, 'What are the lyrics again?'

Hannah stopped humming and took on the role of lead singer, with the beat of her pencil still guiding her.

_''Well, I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind,_

_I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time,_

_But I've watched the world float to the dark side of the moon, _

_I feel there's nothing I can do.' _

'I do know that song! And it's about as old as I am, so the question should be: how do you know it?'

Hannah still didn't believe him and her eyes spoke volumes.

Munch sighed and said, quoting the next line.

_''I really don't mind what happens now and then…''_

Hannah's eyes lit up, and she finished the line for him.

_''… as long as you'll be my friend at the end.''_

'You do know it!'

Munch bend forward and glared at her from over glasses, 'Not so old after all, huh?'

'I have no idea what you two are talking about.' Fin shook his head.

Hannah laughed and then looked at Munch again. 'You're my friend, right?'

'Sure.' He nodded, with what looked like a tiny smile on his face.

* * *

**The songs Hannah is singing are 'Shut up and drive' by Rihanna of course ;) **

**and 'kryptonite' by 3 Doors Down**

**Let me know if you're still with me reading this!**


	26. Inspection

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 26: Inspection

A week later, Dr. Huang casually mentioned that a social worker from ACS planned on coming by the next day. Olivia put down her papers and fell back into her chair. She'd forgotten about that. The week had gone by uneventful. Hannah went to school, and liked it, to everyone's surprise and relief. Maybe everything had gone too smooth after all…

'Cap,' Olivia asked Cragen, 'would it be okay if I leave after I finish up this file?'

'If nothing else comes up.'

Olivia nodded and got back to her typing.

'You have any idea where I could get a bed?' She asked Elliot after a while.

'Buy one?' he looked up.

'For Hannah.'

'I'll drive you, help you carry the bed.' Elliot said.

'Great. I'm done here.' Olivia said, throwing down her pen.

First stop was Hannah's school. Olivia had almost gotten used to walking up those big steps and going through the colorful painted doors. She was thinking; did that make her a parent?

'Looks like a good school.' Elliot was thinking the same apparently, comparing schools.

'Ah, the old Stabler seal of approval. I'll let Hannah know.'

Olivia walked through the halls. She looked into a classroom through the window. A bunch of kids were singing a song, loud and false, but they were too young. Probably 1st grade.

'What time is it?' Olivia asked Elliot. There were kids everywhere and obviously classes hadn't finished yet.

'Almost three. Do you even know which classroom she's in?' Elliot said.

'3rd grade is in here, but she only follows some lessons with them. She gets private help somewhere else, I guess.' Olivia said. She looked through some more windows, until she found the right one. Olivia knocked on the door.

'Come in.' a female voice called out.

Elliot and Olivia stepped in. The teacher looked surprised, but Hannah grinned, 'O look, it's the brothers in blue, coming for me.'

'Hannah!' the woman reprimanded her. She seemed so confused by the entire situation.

'My name's Olivia Benson,' Olivia explained quickly, 'I'm Hannah's guardian. We met before.'

'O yes,' she calmed down a little, 'You came to pick her up? We're about done here.'

Hannah jumped up and was about to run out.

'Remember, Hannah, do your English homework: write those sentences and learn the words that can have more than one meaning.'

Elliot helped Hannah put her stuff in her bag and followed her out. Olivia could hear them talking in the hallway.

'How's she doing?' Olivia asked the teacher.

'There's nothing wrong with her schoolwork. She's very intelligent and does the work given to her; she'll be at 3rd grade level in no time. But, she has trouble concentrating sometimes. She can't sit still and an hour with the other 3rd graders is almost too much. She'll just have to learn that she has to listen to a teacher and conform to our rules.'

Olivia nodded. All of this made sense.

'Anything I can help her with? A subject she has difficulties with?'

'She knows practically nothing about science and geography, apart from every street in New York,' Olivia could tell this teacher was fishing for Hannah's story as well, but she wouldn't get it from her, 'And math, but I've given her some extra homework. Her reading skills, and therefor her writing skills as well, are actually far above the required level.'

'Thank you, for all the extra work you're putting into it.' Olivia said.

'I've never had a child like Hannah.' The teacher pondered, 'She doesn't open up to me at all. She does her work, but she's very careful with everything she says or does.'

'I'm guessing that'll take a while…' Olivia replied.

'I want to get her started in the art, music and P.E. lessons. Right now I use that time for her extra lessons, but she hates that.'

I bet she does, Olivia thought.

'Can we go now?' Hannah stuck her head around the corner. The teacher seemed annoyed by that, 'her manners could use some work though, not even mentioning her language…'

Olivia smiled apologetically, 'we'll work on that. O, and ACS will come by one of these days, maybe they have contacted you yet?'

'Yes, they have. They want to talk about Hannah's progress.' Hannah rolled her eyes. She hated it when adults talked about her as if she wasn't there. It made her want to jump up a table and scream it at their face.

'Yes,' Olivia sighed with fake despair, 'we're leaving.' She picked Hannah up on her hip for a second. Hannah was still tiny for her age, but not as skinny as she was, thank God. Eating wasn't the problem…

They went to this furniture store that Elliot knew. As they walked inside, they were overwhelmed by the enormous space. A man came up to them, with a toothpaste commercial smile painted all over his face. 'Can I help you?'

'Yeah, we need a bed.' Olivia said bluntly.

'Aww, expecting another are we?' the man said sweetly, looking at Olivia stomach.

'Dude…' Hannah started, with eyebrows raised.

Olivia stopped her, but shaking her head. 'We just need a normal-sized bed, for her.' She said sharply and pointed to Hannah.

'I don't care,' Hannah said, 'just needs to be soft like yours.'

'You can try some of the beds out.' The man said. He regretted it straight away, as Hannah ran off and jumped on the first bed in sight. Elliot and Olivia looked at each other, knowing this would happen. The salesperson turned to them for help, but they held up their hands in defense. He had told her to do it.

'Now listen,' Olivia said to Hannah, back at her apartment. 'This is going to be your room and your bed, but you can still sleep in my bed. Do whatever you want, it's all okay with me.' She smiled at the little girl.

Meanwhile, Elliot was busy carrying up the different parts to Hannah's bed, closet and bookcase. Of course, she couldn't have a room without her own bookcase. The little room Olivia used as storage before would be Hannah's room. Olivia had thrown out all the boxes inside. As Elliot started putting the bed together, Hannah went through the boxes, too curious not to.

'Look what I got you!' Elliot pulled out a surprise. It was a duvet cover with baseballs on it.

'So cool!" Hannah looked like a kid on Christmas. 'Thanks!' she hugged Elliot around the waist. He smiled and hugged her back. He didn't expect her to react like this though. She really had changed so much these past months.

The next day, both Hannah and Olivia walked around the apartment aimlessly, biting their nails. They were nervous. That social worker could knock on the door any second. Hannah had slept in her new bed, but only until Olivia went to bed as well. Then she'd crawled into Olivia's bed silently. Last night, Hannah woke up screaming three times, which was a lot. She kept on thinking someone was taking her away again.

Then there was a knock on the door. Both Olivia and Hannah looked up at the same time.

'It's going to be fine.' Olivia said again, squeezing Hannah's shoulders.

They opened the door and there was Mrs. Lane. Olivia's jaw dropped in shock. Why did it have to be her? Probably because she asked for it herself, hoping to trap Olivia in some way. Hannah looked dark and defeated already.

'Hello, Hannah.' Mrs. Lane greeted her, 'How are you?'

'Fine.' Hannah grumbled. Olivia threw her a look and Hannah sighed. 'I'm doing very well, thank you ma'am. How about yourself?' She asked in an over-formal manner.

'Mind your manners, Hannah.' The social worker said sternly, while letting herself in.

She inspected the kitchen first.

'Do you think it's a smart idea to keep beer in here? Hannah has been known to drink.' She asked Olivia. This is going to be a long day, Olivia thought.

Then she inspected the bedroom, all of Olivia's drawers and belongings. Then the bathroom, pulling up her nose because apparently it wasn't clean enough. Next, the living room and this seemed to be the only room in the apartment she didn't have a problem with. Last on the list was Hannah's room.

'What was in this room before Hannah slept here?'

'It was a spare bedroom.' Olivia lied.

'Ah, good. Then it' will still have a use once Hannah is gone.' She smiled sweetly at Olivia.

But Hannah had had enough, 'Listen Lady, you can make these silent threats all day, but I don't plan on going anywhere. Olivia takes good care of me and no one else's gonna want me. So you can stop trying now.'

Olivia wanted to stop her, but couldn't find the words somehow. She was too scared maybe.

'Well, the house seems to be in order, but as far I can see, Detective, you have failed in trying to teach Hannah about the ways of the world.'

'To shut her up when you want her to, you mean.' Olivia snapped.

Hannah smiled at that, but Olivia kicked herself mentally for that remark.

'I mean social skills, Detective.' Mrs. Lane paused a minute to scribble something down again. Hannah was seriously considering stealing that notebook, just to read what she was writing down all the time.

'Let's go to the office, where we will talk with Dr. Huang about Hannah's psychological development.'

'I'm not crazy!' Hannah cried out.

'It just means we will talk about how you're dealing with everything, sweetheart.' The social worker said to her.

But Hannah turned away, retreating more and more inside. 'Don't call me that…'

Dr. Huang was at the 16th precinct, working on another case with the detectives, so that's where they'd decided to meet up. Normally this kind of interview would have taken place at ACS' office. Hannah was glad it was there though and so was Olivia; it almost felt like home now.

'So, Hannah,' she pulled out the same notebook again, 'do you like school?'

'Sure.'

'You don't find it hard? It's okay to say so…'

'No! It's kinda easy, but some subjects are boring. Like math…'

'But you still have to do them.' The social worker lectured her again. Hannah didn't even bother responding.

'You like living with Olivia?'

'Yes.' Hannah emphasized.

'Why?'

'Dunno… she's nice and helps me with stuff and her bed is soft.'

Again, she wrote something down. Hannah craned her neck, trying to read it. Mrs. Lane noticed. 'Hannah, wait outside. We have to talk for a second now.'

She got up, angrily, and threw over her chair doing so. 'Fine. Go talk shit about me!'

'Let her go.' The social worker said to Olivia, who wanted to follow after Hannah. 'You can't give in to her little tantrums.'

'I think it's a bit more complex than little tantrums for attention with Hannah.' Olivia said louder than she had meant to. Mrs. Lane just looked at her for a second, obviously judging her.

Dr. Huang had been quiet all this time, but started talking now. 'Hannah has been making a lot of progress in adjusting to her new life. She went to school willingly, hasn't tried to run away and she's getting less tense around strangers.'

'Has she opened up to you?'

'More than she did in the beginning, yes.'

'Does she talk about what happened in the cellar?' Mrs. Lane wanted to know.

'No, she hasn't. She avoids the subject. Also, she doesn't really want to talk about anything that has happened to her before, about the abuse and her life on the streets. She just wants to focus on her new life and forget about the past.'

'That won't work.' Mrs. Lane noted. 'She needs to work through her issues. Does she cry?'

'I know that,' Dr. Huang smiled and Olivia couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not, 'but that takes time. And no, she doesn't cry. She has shown more emotion, before it was just anger.'

'All I've seen is anger.'

'Towards you, yes.' Olivia threw back.

Mrs. Lane put down her pencil, 'What's that supposed to mean, Detective?'

'She goes back to her old ways as soon as she feels threatened!'

Dr. Huang feared Olivia was going about this the wrong way, with her direct answers and snarls, 'Hannah really likes Olivia. I never though she could get attached to a person like that again, with the abandonment issues she has.' Huang jumped in.

'I'm afraid she's getting attached to the wrong person then.' Mrs. Lane took off her glasses and put them on the table, 'Detective, obviously you are letting her run wild with that attitude of hers and even seem to encourage her in her bad manners.'

'I encourage her to speak up for herself! If there's anything she needs after what she's been through…'

'I'm not finished yet, 'Mrs. Lane cut Olivia off, 'She clearly sleeps in your bed, even though you tried to pull that little trick with the other bed, and I don't even know what to think of that…' She started writing something down again.

'She gets nightmares!' Olivia felt rage pulsing through her body.

'I see very little improvement from eight months ago when she first was arrested.' Mrs. Lane concluded, 'This girl was a criminal, we need to remember that, and she needs to be monitored carefully.'

'And I can assure you that that is what Detective Benson is doing,' Huang said, 'But Hannah also needs to feel safe. She goes back to her old ways as soon as she feels insecure. She feels safe with Olivia and hasn't been in trouble since.'

Olivia looked at the social worker intently, but she shook her head. 'I don't think this is a good environment for a child like Hannah: she needs more discipline and a family, not just one person. I'm sorry, Detective, but I'll write up a negative report and then it's up to my superiors.'

'Then you go tell that little girl in the hall.' Olivia hissed, leaning forward. She could feel tears prickling in the back of her eyes and she hated it.

But as soon as they walked out the door, it became clear that Hannah had already heard the whole thing. She stood there frozen with a look of horror on her face.

'You can't take me away.' Hannah whispered first. 'I won't let you…'

'We only want to do what's best for you.' Mrs. Lane said.

'Then let me stay!' Hannah yelled.

'Nothing has been decided yet.' Olivia tried to calm her down, but Hannah backed away from her as well. Olivia started panicking inside.

'Tell her she can't take me.' Hannah looked at her with pleading eyes. 'Tell her, Olivia' Olivia stumbled, but she choked up. 'TELL HER!' Hannah screamed.

'Baby, please. We'll go home and everything will be okay.' Olivia got out eventually.

But Hannah just shook her head, looking at Olivia with big eyes, 'You promised me. You promised me they wouldn't lock me up again!' Hannah was screaming and you could hear the pain in her voice.

'No one is going to lock you up, Hannah.' The social worker said.

'Fuck you!' But the little girl didn't even look at Mrs. Lane when she replied, she just stared at Olivia, whispering again 'You said they wouldn't take me.'

'And I'm going to do everything I can, but…' Olivia said

'But?' Hannah interrupted her, tears welling up in her eyes. 'You fucking liar!'

She wiped the tears away angrily with her sleeve and all of a sudden she turned around and bolted for the door.

* * *

**Make my day and please review! :)**


	27. Run

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 27: Run

'There, she cried.' Dr. Huang said, his voice laced with frustration, 'Happy now?'

'You fucking bitch…' Olivia whispered.

'Nice to hear where she gets her language from.' Mrs. Lane said smugly.

Olivia spun around to her, but Elliot stopped her by stepping in between the women. The chaos of the scene had caused a lot of people running out of their office, to check out what was going on. Fin had chased after Hannah as soon as she ran out the door.

'Don't bother.' Elliot whispered to Olivia, who looked like she was about to knock the social worker's teeth out, 'focus on Hannah. We need to find her.' He looked at her with his icy blue eyes, trying to get her anger to fade. 'You can fight this fight later.'

Fin ran back in. 'I lost her when she climbed over the fence in an alleyway.'

'Let's go.' Olivia said.

'Munch, go with Fin, follow the trail where you lost her. Ask people on the streets!' Cragen ordered. 'Olivia, where do you think she'd go?'

'Uhm…' Olivia rubbed her face, 'She's mad, so she probably just runs for a while, aimlessly, just to get away.'

'Think, Olivia.' Elliot said, still holding her.

'The roofs. She'll go up to the roofs and move around like that.' Olivia said, 'That way she won't be seen.'

'Follow her route and check every spot where she could get up. Every fire exit and everywhere she could climb up. Don't forget, this girl is like a monkey.' Cragen said, then he turned to Mrs. Lane. 'What the hell were you thinking?' His eyes were blazing.

'O, I'll take care of this.' Alex said darkly.

A little bit later, the detectives climbed over the fence one by one. 'She went 'round the corner here.' Fin said.

'Why didn't you follow her?' Olivia asked him. She sounded annoyed.

'Because I lost her and I'd only lose more time looking around at random. Besides, I had to report back to the Captain.'

'No point arguing now,' Elliot said, 'Could she have gone up here?'

'Me and Elliot will check it out, you two ask around the shops here.' Olivia said, as she started to climb up the stairs.

'Hannah?' Elliot called out, but there was no one up there on the roofs.

'See if you can see her somewhere down there, we have a great view from this high up.'

'Nothing…' Olivia sighed.

'It wasn't your fault, Liv.' Elliot could sense she was feeling guilty.

'I screwed up, Elliot. I should have defended her straight away.'

'That social worker screwed up.' Elliot insisted.

Olivia turned around without answering. 'Let's go back down.'

Once they'd climbed back down, Fin and Munch came walking up. 'A man in the store on the corner said he saw her headed towards the library.'

Of course, Olivia thought. They quickly went to the library building, pushing through the large wooden doors.

'We're looking for a little girl. Nine years old, dark hair, alone?' Olivia asked at the desk.

'Hannah, yeah, she's in here somewhere.' A kind old lady with a lot of uncombed gray hair said to her. 'She's probably down that hall, at the kids' section. She practically lives there, even though I haven't seen her in months…'

But when they came to the children's section, no one was there. The window, on the other hand, was open.

'She's just gonna keep running.' Fin said.

'Because she doesn't feel safe.' Munch said, holding up a book. 'Look, she was reading Narnia. She wants to escape.'

'Munch and me will wait for her back at the precinct, maybe ask around some more.' Fin said, and when Olivia was about to argue with him, 'She knows this town probably even better than we do. If she wants to hide, we'll never find her.'

'I'm not stopping looking for her.' Olivia said. '

'I'm coming with you.' Elliot said at once.

Meanwhile, Alex and Cragen were at the judge's office, trying to convince her that this social worker broke the agreement. ACS had agreed on Olivia as Hannah's legal guardian and therefor the judge had ordered it so.

'She went against your order!' Alex said. She was on fire.

'She didn't Alex, she didn't take Hannah, she was just incredibly rude.' The Judge sighed. 'You can file a complaint with ACS against this Mrs. Lane, that's all I can do for you.'

'She made you look like a fool, as well, Liz!' Alex said.

'You're making me look like a fool, Alex!' Judge Donnelly said sternly, 'but, I can charge her with contempt of court.'

'She'll get fined at most.' Cragen said.

'And hopefully fired, even if she gets out of the fine, her superiors will hear of this.' Alex smiled, 'thanks.'

'Make sure to file your own complaint as well, Captain Cragen. She put the entire progress of this girl, who was an important witness in a major drug case, in jeopardy.'

Outside, Cragen was on the phone with ACS immediately. Hopefully, that'll get her to lose her job, Alex thought. She wasn't that good with kids herself, people said she was too cold, but this lady was just plain cruel and Alex felt like smacking her. It was one thing to dislike Olivia but to let a child like Hannah become the victim of that. Professionalism was lesson number one.

Olivia had asked a few of the people in the market place in the street behind the library. One of them mentioned seeing Hannah talk to a big guy on the corner. As soon as the detectives walked up to him, he ran. They sprinted after him and soon Elliot grabbed him by the collar and planted his face into a wall.

'Where did she go?'

'I don't know what you're talking about, man.' He denied everything.

'You want us to go through your pockets?' Olivia said, while sticking a hand into the pocket of his jacket. You could hear the rattle of pills. 'Make a call to Vice?'

'Okay, okay,' he tried to shrug Elliot off, without success, 'The kid wanted to know where to find a girl named Candy, alright? She said she had something for her. I've seen the kid before, she's trouble.'

'And where can we find this Candy?'

'The corner of 34th and 3rd is hers.'

Of course, the same scene repeated itself when they came to the corner. All the women turned around and found something to do somewhere else when they came walking up.

'We're not Vice, it's okay.' Olivia called out, as she held up her badge. 'We just want to ask you some questions.'

'Have any of you seen this little girl?' Elliot held up a photo of Hannah, taken recently.

'What do you want with her?' A blond woman asked.

'She's run away.' Olivia said, 'I need to find her.'

'In that case, I haven't seen her.' She rolled her eyes and turned away from them.

'Hey! She's only nine and shouldn't be out on the streets this late! If you know anything, you should tell us.' Olivia said.

'If she's run away, she did that for a reason.' This pro repeated.

'Fine, we're taking you in.' Elliot said. All the other women started cursing at him in protest.

'No, don't, Elliot.' Olivia said, 'Listen to me, Hannah has told me you sometimes help her and I can't believe you really want to see an innocent little girl on the streets. So, please, I know people want to hurt her and she got scared, that's why she ran, but I just want to help her. Let me help her, before she gets hurt again.'

'You were there when she was attacked?' Another one of them asked.

'Yes,' Olivia said, 'I got her out. So I don't plan on letting her disappear into that world again.'

'She's at the hotel.' The blonde one said. 'Do what you can for her. She's better than most girls out there, she's not like us.' Elliot let her go and she took a step back from him.

'Speak for yourself…' one whispered.

'I gave her my keys, so she could hide out for a couple of hours,' she continued, after she shot a bitchy look at the other girl, 'she's up on the fifth floor, room 12.'

The hotel was everything they hoped it would be. It was filthy, men everywhere with less than lucid expressions and women offering whatever you could possibly want in that state of mind. There were even kids; some selling dope, some selling themselves.

'We've entered Hell.' Olivia said, as she stepped over yet another passed out junkie.

'Well, it is called the 'Devil's Paradise'.' Elliot replied, as he held open the door to the stairs for Olivia. 'Try not to touch anything, unless you really have to.'

They came to the fifth floor and it wasn't much better up there. A condom was wrapped around the door handle, so Elliot had to pull it down by putting on his gloves first. 'At least they've seen condoms before. Almost expected them not to in here.'

Olivia was scared to death of what they might find when they came to room number twelve. She couldn't stand to be in this filth another minute, Hannah could only have been here for a couple of hours and the thought of her sleeping in here for years made her absolutely sick to her stomach.

They tried opening the door to room number twelve carefully, but it was locked. Olivia looked at Elliot for a second and then she kicked in the door swiftly. Inside Hannah shot up from the floor at once, and ran for the window. Olivia grabbed her around the waist and tried to wrestle her down. Hannah put up quite a fight.

'Hannah, Hannah! Calm down! It's me.' Olivia said.

'I know it's you…' Hannah was crawling away from her now. She looked just like she did eight months ago: vigilant. 'That's why I didn't break your nose.'

'Well, thanks.' Olivia said, not really knowing what else to say. 'We've been looking for you.'

'I know,' Hannah said again, 'I could smell you.'

'You think we suck at our job, huh.' Olivia said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't help. Hannah wouldn't even look at her. She kept looking at Elliot, who was still standing in the doorway.

'You want to run again?' Elliot asked her, 'Please don't, but I'll get out of the way if that makes you feel trapped, so the door is open for you to escape.' Elliot took a step to the side and Hannah scoffed.

'Talk to me, Hannah.' Olivia said, 'What will you do next?'

'What I've always done.' Hannah shrugged.

'I can't let you walk around the city alone.' Olivia said.

'Why not? You did for years.' Hannah called out.

'We didn't know you.' Elliot took a step towards Hannah. The little girl freaked out at once and crawled back into the corner. It broke Elliot's heart. 'You know what, I'll get back to the precinct, call off the search. I won't tell them where you are, I promise, It's up to you what happens next, Hannah.' He hoped Olivia could get through to her. Right now, he was only scaring that little girl. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Hannah watched him walk out of the room from the corner of her eyes. She pulled up her legs and hid her face behind it.

'I didn't know before,' Olivia said, who was still sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall, 'but I promised to protect you, so I will.'

'Why didn't you stop that social worker then?' Hannah snarled.

'She shocked me too, I didn't know what to say, but I won't just let her take you that easily.' Olivia tried to explain.

'Just shut up…' Hannah whispered, 'you're a liar too.'

Olivia sighed. She could almost feel her heart bleed, if there even was such a thing. 'You're right.' Hannah looked up for a second. 'I screwed up. I'm sorry.'

'I'm not going with you!' Hannah warned her.

'I understand that,' Olivia said.

'No you don't…'

'You feel betrayed.'

Hannah was quiet and just sat there. It looked as if she was trying to sink away in the wall.

'I can't let anyone else hurt you, but I won't force you to go anywhere you don't want to.'

'That's great, brilliant!' Hannah called out, 'So what is your plan?'

'My plan is to sit here with you,' Olivia said, 'We'll do whatever you want, but I'm not leaving you again.'

* * *

**What did you think? :)**


	28. Hannah

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 28: Hannah

Hannah was confused. Thoughts were skidding up and down inside her head. Should she trust Olivia or not? She had stayed with her for months when she was in hospital and she'd taken her in. At least the doorway access was free, she could run if she wanted to, but she still felt trapped. Running was the easy option, but that wouldn't really help. Olivia wouldn't just let her disappear again, but Hannah wasn't sure she wanted her to either. She wasn't sure about anything, anymore.

'You just want to sit here for a while?' Hannah heard Olivia saying, as from a distance. She just shrugged. Hannah felt as if she was drunk, or stoned even. Images of the last events flew through her mind, parts of song lyrics, names she forever should forget, the hectics of a police station, her math homework and, again and again. Olivia's face. It was too much. But Olivia's voice came from miles away right now.

'Don't touch that windowpane,' Hannah said, suddenly noticing something, as Olivia was reaching to it for support, 'watch the needles.' Even her own voice sounded distant. Olivia quickly pulled back her hand at the warning. Hannah let her head fall back against the wall, trying to feel something again.

'Are you okay?' Olivia asked once again. But the little girl didn't reply, she just hit herself against the side of her head. The world was spinning and she couldn't make it stop. Focus on something, she thought.

Calm down.

Breath.

Focus.

As she tried to think of just one thing to calm her mind, images of the cellar came flooding back. His eyes staring at her while she was lying on the floor…

Don't think about that!

Don't think.

Don't…

It didn't work, so Hannah just covered her ears and screamed. She buried her head in her legs and screamed for the images to go away. She could barely hear her own screams, but Olivia did. She saw the detective looking at her with hurt and shock in her eyes.

'No, stay there!' Hannah yelled, when Olivia made a move to come closer to her.

'Okay, I won't' Olivia tried to comfort her, holding up her hands, 'I'll stay here. I promise I won't hurt you.'

Hannah nodded. She knew that Olivia wasn't really the enemy, but right now everything was just too much for her to be able to tell the difference. Slowly, she started to relax a little. No one was after her; it was just she and Olivia. Right now, it was okay.

At that moment a random dude opened the door and he just barged in. 'Hannah?' She knew him and looked up, 'Got a job for you.' Apparently he hadn't noticed Olivia.

'No, not today.' Hannah said.

'Busy schedule?' he scoffed, 'Come on, I need a kid your size: bathroom window.'

'Get someone else!' Hannah was getting annoyed.

'Hey!' he took a step, threateningly, towards her, 'Show some respect; you work when I tell you to, and be happy you even get paid.'

'I'm done with that bullshit!" Hannah yelled now.

'You're done when I say so.' He tried to grab Hannah, but before he could reach her, Olivia got up and put him down on the bed with his arm twisted behind his back.

'Ouch, you're breaking my arm!' He complained and he tried to twist out of her grip.

'No, not yet,' Olivia said calmly, 'but I will, if you don't leave right now.' She twisted his arm just a little bit more, just for the effect.

He cried out at once, 'Okay! Fine, let me go.'

'And I never want to see you talking to this girl again,' Olivia said, before letting go, 'I'm a cop and if I ever see you again, I'm taking you in.'

'He rolled his painful shoulders for a second after she'd let go. Olivia just pushed him out of the room and closed the door.

Hannah stared at her. 'That was kinda cool…'

Olivia smiled and for a second Hannah felt like nothing had happened between them that day. Then she looked around: this place was more like home than Olivia's apartment would ever be and she needed to remember that. She was born a rat and would always end up in places like this. There's no point in hoping for anything better, Hannah thought.

'Get out! I need the room!' an unknown girl yelled from the hallway, as she pounded on the door.

'Yeah, I'm gone.' Hannah replied as she got up. She opened the window and climbed through it onto the roof and then she waited for Olivia to follow her. Adults can be really slow sometimes.

'What a shithole…' Olivia whispered. Yeah, just like me, Hannah thought.

Once on the roof, Hannah knew where to go right away. Olivia had a bit of trouble with climbing the drainpipe though. Like a cat, Hannah jumped over a gap between two buildings. Maybe she'll get too scared and leave, Hannah half hoped, half feared.

A few blocks away from the hotel, Hannah opened a door she knew to be unlocked most of the times, on top of a building. Inside she walked a corridor, until she ended up in a small dark space. This was where the heating of the building was regulated, so it was very warm.

Olivia sat close to her, because there wasn't really room for her to keep her distance in there. Hannah was uncomfortable for a second, but that soon faded as fatigue took over. This was a place where she used to sleep a lot. No adult would crawl into this small space, so she was sure to be left alone here. It was just that sometimes the door was locked, but they forgot a lot.

'You should go home and sleep there.' Hannah offered. She knew Olivia wasn't used to this kind of life.

'I'm good.' Olivia said plainly, 'You go to sleep.'

Hannah curled up, but didn't close her eyes. She was afraid of what she might see. Apparently Olivia noticed, because she came with a quick but perfect solution.

'Close your eyes,' she said to Hannah, 'and listen:' Hannah hesitated for a moment and then did as Olivia said.

' ''All children, except one, grow up.

They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this.

One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart…'' '

The story calmed Hannah down at once and she focused on Olivia's voice, only vaguely surprised that she knew the beginning of the story by heart. Soon, she'd drifted off and slept soundly, dreaming of flying. Second star to the right, and straight on till morning…

When she woke up, Olivia was tracing her finger over her forehead, down her nose and over her lips. It felt normal, Olivia had woken her up like that every day, ever since she came out of her coma after Olivia did that. So Hannah didn't flinch at the touch anymore. Under her head was Olivia jacket as a pillow. But the detective looked like hell herself. Guess she didn't sleep.

'Are you hungry?' she asked Hannah, when she got up.

She nodded and said, 'Just wait a second. I have to get something.' With that Hannah crawled behind on of the pipes, with only her feet sticking out. She came back with something clenched in her fist. Her treasure that she'd kept hidden there. Her few belongings were like that, scattered all over the city, for safekeeping. But now they planned on locking her up, in some home or give her away to some crazy couple, so she had to collect them now. Before she'd disappear into the system forever.

'What's that?' Olivia asked of course.

'Just a bracelet,' Hannah put it on. Before she was scared it would get stolen. Everything got stolen at some point on the streets.

'It's pretty,' Olivia said. It was a little silver bracelet with a peace-charm attached to it. 'Where did you get it?'

'I didn't steal it!' Hannah shouted defensively.

'I never said that.' Olivia said carefully.

'It's mine,' Hannah looked at it on her wrist. 'I've always had it on…' She didn't want to tell Olivia it was her only link to a possible parent, that she dreamt of a mother who gave her that a long time ago or that it made her feel wanted after all. But Olivia's look made her feel like she understood after all.

'Let's go.' Hannah said, crawling to the door. 'Fuck!'

'What's up?' Olivia asked, at her outburst.

'Someone's locked the door. Hannah stepped back a little and ran into the door with all her might. Still, it remained locked. The little girl just wasn't heavy enough.

'Let me.' Olivia said as she got up. She could barely stand up straight in here, but with the ease of years of practice, she kicked in the door. It flung open at once.

'Cool…' Hannah commented, while nodding approvingly.

'Glad to know I'm not completely useless out here.' Olivia smiled at her.

'You are,' she helped out of her dream at once, 'you wouldn't last a second. You look, act, walk, talk and even smell like a cop!'

As they walked out and down the stairs of the building, Olivia wondered out loud, 'What does a cop smell like?' Hannah laughed at her confusion.

'Hallelujah, she smiles!' Olivia exclaimed, and Hannah couldn't help but laugh at that too. She liked it when Olivia acted goofy. 'What can I do to make that smile stay?' she asked Hannah.

'Food.'

'Food, it is.' Olivia took her hand and Hannah didn't even mind. She was still scared of being locked up, but Olivia wouldn't take her right now, she was sure of that.

When they were eating, Hannah finally found the courage to ask Olivia what she really wanted to know, 'Why didn't you tell that woman that she couldn't take me?'

'Because I screwed up. I should have told her at once.'

'But you didn't.' Hannah looked at her with dark eyes, 'You don't want me after all, don't you.'

'I do!'

'Just tell me, it's easier if you tell me now.' Hannah was feeling anxious. Why did adults never ever say what they meant for real?

'I mean it and I will fight for it.' Olivia leaned forward, looking into Hannah's eyes, 'But it's gonna be harder than I thought it would, and I freaked out.'

Hannah nodded, but she still wasn't sure she believed her.

'Now I do know,' Olivia continued, 'and knowing what we're up against will only make me fight harder. I'm not giving up.'

'It might not work.' Hannah said in a small voice.

'It might not work straight away.' Olivia pronounced, 'but that doesn't mean we should quit.'

'But what if they take me away?' Hannah called out.

'I'll get you back.' She sounded so sure that even Hannah was inclined to believe her. 'It just might take a while, but I will.'

'You promise?'

'Yes.' Olivia held her hand, 'You just can't give up, not now.'

'Okay…' Hannah still felt a little unsure.

'You're a fighter, right?' Olivia asked her, ' So fight.'

Hannah searched her eyes for anything dishonest. She couldn't find anything, so she agreed. Just fight a little bit longer…

'I can fight.'

* * *

**I know today is an important day for all SVU fans! but i'd be honored if you still read and review this chapter :)**


	29. Knights

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 29: Knights

Olivia had asked Hannah a few times where they were going, but she hadn't really gotten a straight answer. Then again, the detective thought, what does a street kid do all day? Walk around, probably.

So far, she'd been talking to a bunch of people they passed. Shop owners, locals, homeless people and even kids. Olivia had to pull off some boy she got into a fight with over… Olivia didn't even know. But everyone seemed to know her: some yelled at her and some talked to her in a kind voice. Hannah didn't really seem affected by either. It was just part of an old routine.

'Hey,' Hannah greeted a guy, who was sitting on the sidewalk. 'Got one for me?'

He looked up and grumbled something. His dog woke up and started wagging his tale when he saw Hannah. Then he flashed his teeth once he noticed Olivia, growling at her to stay back.

'It's okay.' Hannah bend down and patted his rough coat. 'Look, I got you something.' She pulled out a piece of meat from her pocket and gave it to the dog. The homeless man smiled at her. Only then he gave Hannah the cigarette she wanted.

'Take care, kid.' He said to her, as she took it. Olivia protested, but Hannah ignored her.

Olivia was about to ask her where she got the meat from all of a sudden, but then remembered they passed a market. She knew all about Hannah's skills in that department.

'Give me the cig.' Olivia demanded.

'No.' Hannah refused simply, 'I might need it.'

'You're not smoking that.'

'What'ya gonna do about it?' Hannah got mad. 'Besides, I might need it to trade for food.'

Olivia didn't want to fight with her right now, but she stopped Hannah anyways. 'You know the story: I want you safe and healthy, so give me that thing.'

'You don't know shit about life on the streets! I'm not throwing anything away, just like that!' Hannah yelled.

'Give me.' Olivia repeated, holding out her hand, but she didn't raise her voice.

Hannah handed it over, while rolling her eyes, but she smirked internally when Olivia put the cigarette in her pocket.

Later, Olivia said she had to use the bathroom. Hannah directed her to the nearest McDonalds. It was interesting to Olivia, this insight into Hannah's life before she knew her. It seemed hell, even more so because of the ease with which Hannah moved through this hard world.

She trusts me enough to believe I'm not running away, Hannah thought, as she lit up her cigarette. A few quick drags made her head spin a little; it had been a while since she smoked, but still it relaxed her. She'd be half way through the smoke at least, before Olivia would come back, she figured. She'd get mad at her, but it was worth it.

And yes. 'Hannah!' Olivia yelled when she came out, 'Put that out, now!' But Hannah jumped away, as Olivia tried to grab at her wrist.

'It relaxes me!' Hannah emphasized, taking another quick drag.

'Well, it stresses me the fuck out!' Olivia threw back, then realizing she wasn't supposed to swear in front of her girl.

'I'll run.' Hannah threatened.

'No, you won't.' Olivia said, her anger fading. 'You're stressed?' She wrapped her arms around the little girl, holding her head with one hand, while she took the cigarette with the other.

'You don't need that shit.' She said, while throwing her smoke in the gutter. 'We'll be fine.'

Hannah let her head drop against Olivia's stomach and sighed.

'So what do we do now?' Hannah asked, sounding very young.

'Would it be okay if we go back to my place?' Olivia tried. She held her breath as she waited for Hannah's reply. 'Just so I can shower.' She added, casually.

Olivia felt Hannah stiffen in her arms. The little girl looked up at Olivia. 'Do whatever you want. You have an apartment. I don't get what you're doing here anyways.'

'I'm not going without you.' Olivia said.

'I need to pick something up.'

'It's not safe for you to be alone in the city.'

'It is for me,' Hannah's eyes seemed to burn, 'So trust me.'

Olivia shook her head. She didn't like this, she didn't like this at all.

'I can come to your apartment later.' Hannah said. She looked determined and left no room for argument.

'Come to my place in a few hours,' Olivia said sternly, 'If you don't show I'm sending the entire police squad after you!' Hannah sighed, so Olivia knew her threat had the desired effect.

'Fine.'

'And don't smoke!' she added.

'Fine.'

Can't wait till she's a teenager, Olivia thought.

'Hey, Liv,' Hannah started, 'Thanks for trusting me.'

Olivia smiled, even though she was still a little worried.

Back at her apartment, anxiety really set in. She swore to herself she'd never let Hannah go like that again. Or maybe she should, Hannah shouldn't feel trapped. Olivia was torn between Hannah's obvious independence in the big city and the memories of that little girl's abuse. She'd never seen a small back like hers beaten purple with a belt, with the imprint of a buckle scourged in her flesh…

Eventually Olivia decided she really needed a shower. She could smell herself and it wasn't pretty. Also, she needed to stop worrying. If Hannah hadn't come back after that, Olivia decided, she'd… truth was, Olivia didn't really have a plan. Being a mother sucks!

There was no need to worry after all, because when she came out of the shower, wrapped in nothing but two towels, Hannah was sprawled out on her couch.

'What do you do in that shower?' she called out, 'you took hours in there!'

'I just…'

'I take it back,' Hannah held up a hands, 'I don't wanna know.'

Olivia put her hands on her hips, squinting her eyes at Hannah's implication.

'Yeah, that really doesn't make you look more scary.' Hannah said, raising one eyebrow, 'dressed all… classy.' She chose the word with care, eyeing Olivia slowly.

'You're just looking for trouble, aren't you?' Olivia said. But inside she was jumping up and down with joy: Hannah, the confident troublemaker, was back!

'Always.' Hannah smirked, proudly. Olivia took off the towel that was wrapped around her head. She spun it around a few times and flicked it towards Hannah on the couch. She just dodged it.

As Hannah was about to open her mouth again, ready to make another smart comment, Olivia held up one finger, her eyes twinkling, 'You might want to reconsider.'

Hannah held up her hands, but she kept silent.

'Good choice.' Olivia turned around and walked off to her bedroom to get dressed.

'Just wanted to mention I loooooved your singing when you were in the shower.' Hannah called after her, cheekily.

'Just wait…' Olivia growled as she kept on walking. She looked over her shoulder, with what was meant to be a threatening look. Instead she just burst out laughing and Hannah did the same thing. 'Just wait!' Olivia warned again.

She quickly got dressed. Peeking into the living room a few times, just to make sure Hannah was okay, she saw a perfectly relaxed little girl flicking through the pages of her People Magazine. It filled Olivia's heart with joy to see her like that, and with just a little bit of embarrassment because of the magazines she read.

When she was ready, she came running out of the bedroom and jumped on the couch with a battle cry. Hannah screamed as well and laughed at the same time.

'You're crazy!' Hannah giggled, as she tried to get the upper hand on the couch.

'You're dealing with a police officer, sweetheart,' Olivia laughed, 'Show some respect!'

'O, well in that case..' Hannah picked up the nearest pillow and whacked Olivia round the head with it. Olivia gasped dramatically and Hannah tried to flip them over at the same time.

It all sort of went south, when Olivia tried to avoid the pillow the second time Hannah attacked. They rolled onto the floor and both girls screamed again. In a tangle of limbs, they lay on the carpet. It took a while before they were able to stop giggling.

'You act like a kid sometimes.' Hannah said, turning to Olivia. She looked so carefree and happy, Olivia thought

'It's fun.' Olivia said. She looked relaxed, Hannah thought.

'Yeah…'

'Wanna stay here?' Olivia asked her.

'On the floor?' Hannah asked her, not understanding.

'Yeah! We can order pizza and watch a movie or something.'

Hannah nodded enthusiastically, 'Oh! I have an idea,' The little girl jumped up, 'We need to build a fort!' She started throwing every blanket and pillow there was in the house towards Olivia.

'You're burying me alive here!' Olivia called out, sticking one hand out of the heap and waving it around as if she was calling for help.

Hannah uncovered her with a big smile on her face, 'You were squashing me, remember.'

'I'll go order that pizza. I'm hoping for a fort to return to!'

Olivia picked up the phone and started dialing the number. She pulled up her eyebrows as Hannah started dragging furniture everywhere. When the bell rang, a little bit later, Hannah sprinted after Olivia to the door. A scruffy teenager in a terrible outfit stood in the doorway, holding their pizzas. He looked out of it, until he saw Hannah.

'Hey, dude!' he called over to her, holding up a hand.

Hannah slapped his hand, followed by some complicated handshake, 'Hey, dude.'

'You two know each other?' Olivia asked surprised.

'Yeah, dude,' the delivery boy said to Olivia, 'me and her go way back.'

'I used to work there for a while.' Hannah explained.

'Until she ate her deliveries.' He grinned.

Olivia smiled. It was good to know that not the whole of New York City hated her little girl.

'Take care, dude.' He high-fived her again as he left.

'See ya!' Hannah took Olivia's hand and led her to their fort. It was an amazing structure of almost every piece of furniture in the house, covered with lots of blankets and Olivia also recognized some of her clothes in there. Inside she'd dumped all the pillows and her baseball duvet.

'That looks awesome, dude,' Olivia said, mimicking the delivery boy. 'No really, I've always wanted to build something like this when I was a kid.'

'So why didn't you?' They crawled inside.

Olivia shrugged. 'My mother…' she didn't really feel like explaining.

'Well, now you can!' Hannah said upbeat.

Olivia smiled at her and stroked her hair for a second. 'I'm lucky to have you.'

Then she realized with a shock she really didn't have any movies for kids. She didn't have that many movies at all, and most were very much not for kids!

'What're we gonna watch?' Hannah asked at once, looking at her with anticipation.

'Uhh…' Olivia stuttered, 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith?' she thought out loud. Hannah would love that one and it was one of Olivia's favorites. 'No, no, no, you're way too young for that one.'

'What's it about?'

'About a married couple, who are both secret agents, and both get the job to kill the other. But they don't really want to after a while, so they just fight the agency.' Hannah stared at her, not even eating her pizza. 'It's funny. It's just chaos of fighting and them yelling at each other and other people trying to blow them up.' Olivia added. She felt sort of dumb.

'I WANNA SEE IT!' Hannah turned to face the TV. Guess there was no changing her mind then.

Olivia had forgotten how much she actually loved this movie. It was crazy and just so funny. Hannah laughed at every action scene and seemed to enjoy every second of the movie.

'Wish we could live in this fort forever.' She said, after the movie was done.

'Ahh, that's why we need to defend the fort,' Olivia said. 'Tomorrow we'll face the attackers of our home.'

'Like we're knights.' Hannah nodded.

'Like knights, with our shield and sword.'

'We don't have those.' Hannah said, leaning closer.

'Sure we do! We have my badge: the golden shield, and your right hook: better than any sword.'

Hannah grinned.

'They don't stand a chance.' Olivia whispered, reassuring her. Hannah crawled into Olivia's arms, with her baseball duvet wrapped around her.

That night, both knights slept inside the fort.

* * *

**I really don't want to sound ungrateful, so once again, thanks to all my followers and most of all the people who review: I seriously love you all! Every review is more of a reason to keep writing :D**


	30. Family

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 30: Family

Elliot walked up the stairs in Olivia's building. It was two days ago since he left them at the hotel. It was so hard for him to leave them then, in that place that was nothing but filth. He hated leaving a kid behind in such dirt, but he hated leaving his partner as well. It didn't feel natural.

So here he was, checking up on her. Kathy hadn't said anything, but he could see it in her eyes when he left: you're spending more time with your partner than with your family. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should've told her about Hannah and the case, but he didn't want to take all that home with him. He didn't want to put the image in her head of a little girl, whipped and chained. He didn't want her to look at their daughters and see that, like her did now. So instead, Elliot just came home a little bit later. Again.

The doorman let him in, knowing him, because he came there quite a lot. He knocked on Olivia's door upstairs.

Hannah opened the door. She had a milk mustache and the carton still in her hand. Apparently she'd just woken up; her hair was standing up in all directions and she was still wearing pajamas. Well, Olivia's police department shirt.

'Good morning,' Elliot said, eyebrows raised, 'Do you know what time it is?'

Hannah shrugged. She took another gulp of milk.

'Not morning… You know, you should use a glass when you drink milk.' He said.

'You know, you're not my father, Elliot.' she replied.

'Get a glass.'

'Yes, Sir!' Hannah saluted sarcastically.

'Where's Liv?' Elliot asked, as he stepped inside.

'Still asleep.' Hannah said. She climbed on the counter and reached for the cupboard to grab a glass.

'So, how are you doing?' Elliot asked.

'I'm okay.' She nodded.

'Good.' He smiled at her. He wondered what had happened these last two days, but he was just glad it had worked. Hannah seemed relaxed.

'Elliot,' Hannah started, 'thanks for not taking me in, back at the hotel.'

'I figured you didn't really need that.'

'I would've killed you…' Hannah looked down, 'Not because I wanted to! But I was a little bit freaked.'

'So were we.' Elliot said softly, as he put a hand on Hannah's shoulder.

Hannah looked up at him, smiling, still with the mustache.

Elliot glanced into the living room and saw what he could only describe as chaos. 'She's in there?' He pointed at the heap of blankets.

'It's a fort.' Hannah said sharply.

'Yes, I can see that. It looks great.' Elliot said at once.

'Hmm-hmm.' Hannah said. Clearly she didn't believe him.

Elliot got down on all fours and followed Hannah. She crawled inside and Elliot took a peek inside the fort. Olivia was still sleeping very soundly on a bunch of pillows and both duvets draped over her. She looked less than elegant with limbs spread out, but Elliot didn't find it an unpleasant sight. Especially her one leg, that seemed to go on forever, that stuck out from under the covers. Needless to say, he'd never seen his partner like this.

'Having fun?' Hannah stared at him, with twinkling eyes, as she followed his gaze.

'Uhh…' Elliot stumbled, 'She-she's a very sound sleeper, isn't she.' He really was a little surprised that she slept through all of their talking.

Hannah leaned closer to Olivia, her lips hovering near her ears. 'BOOH!'

Olivia shot up and called out. Hannah laughed at her and Olivia stared at her with a confused look. Then she saw Elliot and she quickly grabbed all the blankets she could find and covered herself. The whole thing made for an amusing scene.

'Mooorning.' Elliot said slowly, waggling his eyebrows.

'What's this man doing in my fort?' Olivia rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

'He infiltrated.'

'Kill him.' Olivia said, squinted her eyes dangerously and sounding a lot like ADA Cabot.

Hannah jumped on top of Elliot with a battle cry. Elliot wrestled with Hannah, taking down the entire fort in the progress, while Olivia got dressed.

At the precinct Hannah was welcomed enthusiastically. Olivia walked in with the little girl on her back.

'People are gonna believe you two are married if you keep showing up together at work.' Fin said, 'Hey, kid. You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm good.' She smiled.

'Good to see you, Hannah.' Cragen said, as Olivia lowered her down. 'Glad to see that the disappearance of my detective, for two days, has paid off.' He looked at Olivia with a meaningful look.

'Uhm, Yes, Captain…' she started.

'We can talk about it later.' He interrupted her, but he didn't seem mad.

'They didn't take me.' Hannah said to Munch.

'We wouldn't let them.' He replied. ' ''_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman strength.'' _Remember?'

Hannah smiled up at him and nodded, as he reminded her of the song she sang before. Munch was cool.

'I don't have to go to school?' Hannah asked Olivia carefully.

'What are you doing?' Elliot asked her incredulously, 'Don't ask her that! Just be glad you're free.'

'Oh, right.' Hannah said. 'Nevermind.'

Alex walked in and she shook Hannah's hand in a very formal manner, but with smiling eyes, 'Welcome back.'

They all had their own way of greeting her and it made Hannah feel more at home than she'd ever had.

'Olivia, we have to go.' Alex said.

'Go where?' Elliot asked.

'Nail Mrs. Lane to the wall.' Alex said, flipping her blond hair back and looking quite scary.

'Yay!' Hannah cheered.

'We'll be right back, okay?' Olivia said, 'Stay with Elliot.'

Hannah sat down in Olivia chair. She took up one of Olivia's pens and started drawing on a piece of paper.

'She'll be fine.' Elliot said. Olivia smiled at him gratefully.

As soon both women had marched out, on the warpath, Hannah started going through Olivia's drawers.

'Elliot, why does ACS hate Olivia?'

'They don't hate her. Stay out of Olivia's drawers, that's private.'

'Mrs. Lane does. It's her work desk, what could she possibly keep in here that's secret?'

'I don't know why Mrs. Lane dislikes Olivia, but she obviously does. ACS doesn't hate her.' Elliot said and looked up. 'If there's nothing secret to be found in those drawers, then stay out of it!'

'She's jealous because Olivia is awesome.' Hannah mumbled.

'Yeah…' Elliot smirked.

'But what about ACS? They don't want her to adopt me.'

Elliot sighed deeply, 'They think she works too much to be a good mother, and she's single.'

'But I'm fine here! I'm always with Olivia or at school, isn't that how it's supposed to be?' Hannah opened up another draw and went through the papers inside.

'They think you need to be at home with family.'

'I don't know much about family,' Hannah said with her head under the table, 'but I guess you people here are like my family. So in a way, I am with family, right?'

Elliot had to think about that for a second.

'Kid's got a point.' Munch commented.

'Wish we could make ACS understand though.' Elliot said, 'And I'm not telling you again, stay out of those drawers!'

Hannah's dark curls appeared again. 'I found a chocolate bar, you wanna share?'

'Yeah, give me that.' Elliot gave in. You know what?' he said as he munched down the chocolate, 'we should go tell ACS.'

'Tell them what?' Hannah asked.

'What you just said about family! I promised I'd support Olivia in any way that I can, and now that includes you as well. ACS wants her to have an extended family to fall back on, as a safety net; I can be that.

'I could live you hanging around here.' Fin added with a wink.

'That's just his charming way of saying he'll look out for you,' Munch translated, 'and the same goes for me. So the safety net widens. '

'Thank you.' Hannah whispered.

'If we just get Cragen to write to ACS, as well. I mean, he lets me off when something is wrong with my kids, he'd do the same thing for Olivia probably.' Elliot said. 'He knows how good she is with kids and with you especially.'

'And I don't mind her hanging around here either.' Cragen popped up behind them and he turned to Hannah. 'I'll write to ACS, vouching for Olivia. We don't want to lose you again, now do we?'

Hannah just smiled, too happy to say a word.

* * *

**I'm sending all my love to my devoted readers 3**


	31. Superheroes

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 31: Superheroes

'We're looking for Mrs. Lane,' Olivia said harshly, as they marched into the office of ACS. 'My name's Detective Olivia Benson, this is ADA Alex Cabot. We need to speak with Mrs. Lane right away.'

'You can't, she's out.' A very confused woman at a desk replied. She was obviously taken back by the two tall women, complete with the wavy hair of super heroes, who came barging in and demanded to speak to her social worker.

'And you are?' Olivia sounded impatient. She was still holding up her badge.

'My name is Ruth Wilcox. I'm head of the department.'

'Perfect.' Alex said, 'We would like to talk to you then.'

'About what?' Mrs. Wilcox sat down. 'Please, take a seat.' She offered.

'We'll stand, thank you.' Alex smiled a humorless smile. It made Ruth Wilcox feel even less at ease.

'Your social worker's behavior.' Olivia explained, 'We almost lost a key witness in the a major drug case, who is also a very confused and scared little girl, because of her incompetent ways.'

'That's quite an accusation you're making, Detective. She is trained for this kind of work and has years of experience.'

'Apparently, that means very little.' Alex commented dryly.

'I object!' Mrs. Wilcox cried out.

'Usually, that's my line…' Alex mumbled.

Olivia cut their little argument short and jumped in, 'This social worker has been extremely insensitive to a child in a very vulnerable position. I though it was your number one priority to make as little changes as possible in a child's life in order to make a child feel safe? I think making non stop threats to a child's environment doesn't quite fit into that picture.'

'You're right, Detective, that is our aim. Everything we do is in the best interest of the child, I'm sure Mrs. Lane would agree.' She turned away, trying to brush Olivia off. Olivia could feel anger rising inside her. Breath, don't hit the woman, that won't help, she reminded herself.

'She caused a little girl so much distress, by constantly threatening to take her away from Detective Benson, who is her legal guardian, that the child ran away. Your social worker didn't even try to stop her!' Alex emphasized. 'She's been rude and prejudiced against Detective Benson from day one.' The ADA took a moment to breath and started her legal rant, 'I'm here on the Judge's behalf, who made Detective Benson Hannah's legal guardian. Because she doesn't seem to accept this and uses her authority to get her way in this, Mrs. Lane is in contempt of court. Also, because she endangered a child by causing her to run away and her being an important witness, she can be charged with obstruction of justice.'

Baffled for a moment by Alex' professional talk, Mrs. Wilcox said, 'How did she cause the child to run away?'

'She told her I wasn't a fit guardian and she might be moved. She's been very hostile and prejudiced against me and the little girl.' Olivia replied.

'Wait a second; you said your child's name is Hannah? The homeless girl?'

'Yes. I know she's trouble, but she's important to our case, but most of all, she's a great kid, once she feels safe! Her life has been hell so far, of course she'll run once she gets scared!' Olivia practically yelled.

Mrs. Wilcox had calmed down by now and was less defensive. 'But she has a right to take Hannah away if she suspects you're a poor guardian. What were her arguments?'

'Everything I do is an argument to her! The way my apartment looks, the way I dress, my work, the way I talk, the way Hannah talks and the list goes on and on…'

Alex could feel Olivia was getting too emotional. 'We simply ask for a social worker who looks at the case objectively. Mrs. Lane wanted to put Hannah in a home from the start and was clearly against Detective Benson as her legal guardian, for whatever reason that may be. Let a new social worker review the case.'

'Very well.' Mrs. Wilcox agreed. 'but are these charged against Mrs. Lane really necessary?'

'What charges?' They turned around and Mrs. Lane was standing right there.

'You've endangered a child's welfare, you are in contempt of court and obstruction of justice.' Alex summed up once again.

'You can't do that.' Mrs. Lane said angrily, 'You can't use your authority to go against my advice as a social worker, just because you're the one it concerns, Miss Benson.'

'Detective.' Olivia hissed. 'And what is it you have against me?'

'Hannah's trouble, and people like you only make it worse.'

'People like me?'

'People who condone her criminal behavior, yes!'

'She's not a criminal.'

'She's dishonest! You really want me to believe that Hannah hasn't stolen anything since she's with you? She has no respect and, frankly, neither have you!' Mrs. Lane yelled.

'Will ACS also be implicated in these charges?' Mrs. Wilcox asked Alex. They turned away from the arguing women.

'It is a possibility.' Alex explained. 'It depends on your move, as head of the department. If you want to support her as one of your employees, it will.'

Mrs. Wilcox thought about what the ADA had just told her and she looked at Mrs. Lane who was still dueling with Olivia.

'You have some serious issues, lady.' Olivia said to her.

'I'm the one with issues? I'm not the one all high and mighty, protecting scum with my o so important badge! You self-righteous bitch!' Mrs. Lane shouted. The other three women all stared at her after that.

'Well, the cat is out of the bag.' Alex said, stony faced.

'I'll set up meeting with another social worker and I'll supervise it personally.' Mrs. Wilcox sighed, as she rubbed her forehead.

'Thank you.' Alex said.

'What is your problem with me being a detective?' Olivia didn't let go that easily.

'Some kids are just evil, okay? They're born bad, and they die bad. You really think you can change that? Just because you're some high up the ladder police officer, doesn't mean you can change anything!'

'You mean, you can't.' Olivia hissed, 'I'm not letting you ruin another child's chance at a better future.'

'Neither am I.' Ruth Wilcox decided right there.

Mrs. Lane scoffed angrily. Her face was all red and she trembled with rage.

'And certainly not my kid's.' Olivia added.

'Will next week suit you and Hannah for a meeting, right here in this building?' Mrs. Wilcox asked Olivia. She just ignored Mrs. Lane, who was still standing there.

Olivia nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak; she was afraid everything would come out as a snarl right now. She was still too angry. How could anyone think like that about a child? She'd seen many children who had done terrible things, but to think some were born evil, just because they lived rough or had a problems? They were born without chances, and people like Mrs. Lane only took away another chance. But to have her talk like that about Hannah; that really made her blood boil.

'You've been subpoenaed.' Alex gladly handed Mrs. Lane the blue envelope.

As both women walked out of the building, after mission accomplished, Alex said to Olivia, 'Hey, cheer up, we did it.'

Olivia smiled at her. 'Yeah… She just made me so mad.'

Alex just nodded. 'She'll never work again.'

'Thanks, Alex.' Olivia turned to face her, 'Thanks a lot.' Relief started to set in. Finally they'd get a fair chance. Also, Olivia realized with a shock, this was what Hannah felt like all the time: people seemed to hate her without actually knowing her, and they didn't even want to get to know her. It was so unfair and there was nothing you could do about it as a child.

'Let's go tell Hannah.' Alex said.

'We're not there yet, Alex. I'm still just her legal guardian…'

'You told me to fight.' Hannah popped up next to Olivia, 'so, fight.'

O, she just did.' Alex said, 'and where did you come from?'

'She came with me,' Elliot came up the stairs. He was panting, 'We wanted to talk to a social worker on your behalf, Olivia.'

'Thanks, El.' Olivia was genuinely grateful for his gesture.

'I promised, didn't I?' he stated simply. 'So what happened?'

'The social worker went psycho; apparently it was a power trip thing. Also, she hates kids. She said some were just born evil and she doesn't really care what happens to those.'

'That makes for a great social worker…' Elliot said.

'Did you punch her?' Hannah looked up at Olivia, expectantly.

'No… I talked to her.' Olivia leaned down and pronounced the words carefully.

'You talked.' Hannah didn't seem impressed. 'And that helped?'

'It sure did. Mrs. Lane is being fired right at this moment.' Olivia said.

'I wanna see!' Hannah moved to run towards Mrs. Wilcox office. Olivia lifted her up, though.

'O, no, you won't. Just be glad we'll get another change with a different social worker.'

'I am.' Hannah smiled and she threw her arms around Olivia's neck.

'I think you should come back next week. We have a meeting with another social worker then.' Olivia said to Elliot.

He nodded and lifted Hannah off of her.

'I still think at least one of you could have punched her.' Hannah said.

'I almost did…' Olivia sighed.

'I bet you did.' Elliot laughed.

'Prosecuting her is way more fun.' Alex said to her and Hannah grinned. Alex prosecuting you was in fact far worse.

'You're kinda badass, Alex.' Hannah said. It was a huge compliment coming from her.

'Hey, what about me?' Olivia asked, indignant.

'You're the protector of the realm.' Elliot said, remembering the fort.

'Can we go now?' Hannah said softly, 'I'm tired of all the fighting.'

'So am I, baby.'

'At least we'll be fine for another week, right?' the little girl asked her. It pained Olivia to notice she was still scared of being taken away, but then again, who could blame her.

* * *

**If you want me to keep writing, let me know ;)**


	32. Comfort

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 32: Comfort

Hannah sat on the floor in Olivia's apartment, watching television, when Olivia came back from work. Olivia was stunned when she saw her sitting there.

'What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in school.'

Hannah didn't even look up. She kept changing the channel but didn't seem to watch it for real. Olivia prepared herself mentally; something was wrong.

'How did you even get in?' she asked more carefully now.

'Check your phone.' Hannah said. She sounded cold. 'School probably called you.'

They had. 'What did they want to talk to me about?' Olivia asked her.

'Call them, they'll tell you.'

'I want you to tell me.' Olivia put down her bag, 'Hannah, look at me.'

'You're mad at me.' It wasn't a question.

Olivia walked over and turned off the TV. 'No, but I want you to explain.'

'Yes, you are mad and you want me to leave.'

'Honey, I can be mad at you when you do something wrong, but I'll still love you and I'd never want you to leave.' Olivia stood in front of the TV with her hands at her hips. She had to be strict, but she could understand that it was hard for Hannah to tell the difference; the little girl had never dealt with a parent before.

Hannah had to think about that for a second, then she said, 'So you are mad.'

'You can't just leave school.' Olivia said.

'I couldn't really stay either!'

'Why?'

'It doesn't matter if you want me to leave or not, I have to go soon anyways. So be mad at me, see if I care.' Hannah tried not to meet Olivia's eyes.

'Baby, will you please talk to me!' Olivia cried out, 'Has something happened at school?'

'No.'

'Why are you so scared all of a sudden of being taken away then?'

'I'm not scared!' Hannah looked up and their was fire in her eyes, 'It's just that Child Protective Services will come in here any second and take me.'

'Why do you think that?' Olivia no longer sounded angry.

'School called them.' Finally, Hannah had started to talk.

Olivia crouched down. 'What happened?'

Hannah shrugged.

'Please, tell me.'

'The teacher freaked. She saw the burn marks on my wrist and she thought they were new. She kept on asking me who did that and I didn't feel like talking about it, of course, so she thought you did it!'

Olivia sighed. Were these people serious?

'Why can't they just leave us alone!' Hannah picked up a vase and threw it at the wall in anger. It shattered right there and Olivia grabbed Hannah's hand. She tried to pull it back angrily, but Olivia held onto her.

'Don't.' She brought her head close to Hannah's, trying to get eye contact. 'Don't do that.'

'What? Or you'll trade me in?'

'I'm not mad at you.'

'You should. Child Protective Services are gonna arrest you.' Hannah was still all defensive.

'No they won't. Those scars are on your file. We can easily prove that they're old wounds and that I wasn't the one who inflicted them.'

Hannah looked up. 'Really?'

'Really.'

'I'm sorry about your vase…' Hannah mumbled. 'I didn't mean to get that angry.'

'I know, baby.' Olivia said.

'And I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused with Child Protective Services.' Hannah continued, and added, 'Or will cause, they still have to come…'

'That'll be over before you know it.' Olivia didn't want her to apologize, 'And it's not your fault!'

'And I'm sorry for running away from school. They told me to wait for someone from CPS there.'

'I get that.' Olivia said. 'You got scared, scared they'd lock you up again.'

'Right.' Hannah stated. She always got very defensive after she had gotten angry, so Olivia had to be careful with her. She held out her hand and waited for Hannah to take it. When she did, Olivia knew it was okay for her to hug Hannah.

'How did you get in?' Olivia was too curious not to ask again.

'Picked the lock.' Olivia made a mental note to get an extra lock on her door.

There was a short knock on the door and Olivia got up. Hannah drew in a sharp breath, uncertain of what would happen next.

It was Elliot. 'Hi! Wow, don't you two look cheerful.' He said soon, after he saw their faces.

'El, would you do me favor?' Olivia looked a little distant, Elliot thought.

'Sure, whatever you need.' He replied at once.

'Take Hannah with you. She needs to get out and do something fun.'

'Yeah, sure, are you okay?'

'I need to deal with something here and I don't want her worrying even more.'

'Why are you shipping me off with him?' Hannah walked up to them. 'No offence.' She said to Elliot.

'Because it'll be boring when I talk to CPS in here. There's no point in you being here as well.' Olivia tried her best at an encouraging smile. Hannah didn't buy it. And neither did Elliot.

'You wanna go to the park? Play some catch?' Elliot asked Hannah in a cheerful voice. Hannah nodded happily.

'If Liv's okay without me…' she quickly added.

'I'll be fine, sweetheart.' Olivia put a hand on her head.

'Okay, go get your Yankees cap then.' He said.

As soon as she'd run off, concern crept back into Elliot's expression. 'What does Child Protective Services want with you?'

'Her teacher saw the cigarette burns on her arm…' Olivia said with a tired expression.

'…and they think it was you.' Elliot finished, with a sigh. 'Just show them the files, Liv. It'll be cleared up in seconds.'

'I know, it's just that Hannah really freaked out.'

'I'll try to take her mind off it.' Elliot smiled at her.

Olivia smiled half a smile at him. She felt like she had asked a lot of him these past couple of days. She didn't really know how to thank him, so instead she just hugged him. It sort of came out of the blue, but of course Elliot held her. The idea even that Olivia had abused Hannah, it was ridiculous. He closed his eyes…

'Get a room!' Hannah looked at them, with her arms folded in front of her chest.

'Okay,' Elliot laughed, as he let go of Olivia, 'Guess she's ready to go.'

A few hours went by, and while Elliot and Hannah played in the park, Olivia had a very tiring conversation with someone from Child Protective Services. Then she had to call the school and try to explain Hannah's reaction; she actually had to go over there and show her teacher the file. The woman was shocked, of course, and Olivia felt a little bad for her. She didn't mention Hannah's drug running or the other complaints that were filed against her; Olivia didn't want the teacher to judge Hannah straight away.

Back in the park, Hannah had no problem, as usual, with asking the hard questions. 'Why does Olivia get so sad about CPS thinking she hurt me? I mean, she said it was easily solved.'

'Well, we lock child abusers up, that's our job, so she sure doesn't want to be like them.' Elliot explained.

'That's the only reason?' Hannah asked again.

'I'm not sure.' Elliot replied truthfully.

'Me neither…' The little girl looked pensive and it made Elliot laugh.

'You know a lot for a nine year old.' He said.

'So people keep saying…' Hannah sighed, 'Not sure if that's a good thing.'

'Liv will be fine.' Elliot put a hand on her back, 'She always is.'

'No one is always fine, Elliot.' She corrected him.

When they came back, Hannah started shouting out, before she'd even gone inside, 'ELLIOT BOUGHT ME MY OWN GLOVE!'

Hannah threw the door open, 'LOOK, IT'S ALL NEW AND…'

'I'm right here, baby. No need to shout.' Olivia said in an effort to calm her down.

'O, sorry, I didn't see you…' Hannah mumbled, 'But look! My own baseball glove!' She held up the glove and grinned expectantly.

'That's great! O, and he got you a ball too?' Olivia threw the ball up and caught it mid-air.

'If she breaks a window, you're paying.' Olivia said to Elliot.

'Now that's real gratitude.' He said, sarcastically.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' Hannah said again.

'I didn't mean you,' Elliot said, 'but you're welcome.'

'Thanks.' Olivia finally said. But she meant it.

A loud thud came from Hannah's bedroom. 'What are you doing?' Olivia called out.

'It's just the wall.' Hannah yelled back. 'Don't worry.'

Olivia sighed, decided not to worry about it and turned away.

'Are you okay, Liv?' Elliot asked.

'Yeah.'

Elliot opened the door and stepped outside. 'Even Hannah doesn't believe that, you know.'

In the middle of the night, Olivia woke up with a shock. Her body jerked and her eyes shot open. Next to her, Hannah lay with her eyes closed. Olivia was just glad she hadn't woken her up.

As always, Olivia rolled onto her back and tried to drown out the images of her nightmare.

_Sixteen year old Olivia was looking at army applications. It was two years before she'd even finish high school, but dreaming kept her mind of her home life. _

_'What are you looking at?' Olivia didn't look up; she could hear her mother's slurred speech. _

Why was dreaming about it never enough, Olivia thought. Why was it always necessary to relive it once more, after she'd woken up?

_'You're not still thinking about that?' her mother laughed at her._

_'I am, momma.' _

_'Why? You don't have the discipline for it…'_

_'You mean, you don't!' Olivia snapped. _

Olivia looked at her alarm clock. It was only 2 in the morning; she'd be alone for another few hours with her thoughts.

_By the sound of the ice in her mother's glass, Olivia could hear Serena coming closer._

_'Don't you talk to me like that!' she was unsteady on her feet. 'I'll knock you straight out.'_

_But the truth was, her mother couldn't even lift a finger without almost falling to the ground._

Olivia splashed water onto her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Mothers and daughters; they were always messed up. Why would her relationship with her mother be any different? She'd loved her mother and her mother had loved her. So why couldn't she just get over things?

_'Go on, momma.' Olivia challenged her mother, angrily, 'Hit me.'_

_Olivia got up and held her arms out: she played the living target, but her mother just laughed an obviously alcohol-induced laugh. She walked off and picked up a bottle on her way to the bedroom._

_'I don't need this shit…' Olivia mumbled to herself. She ran down the stairs as fast as she could; ready to spend yet another afternoon in the library._

Olivia lay down on the bed, with her arms folded behind her head. She stared at the ceiling and prayed for the memories to go away. She didn't even notice the one tear sliding down her cheek. When she turned onto her side and tried to go back to sleep again, Hannah slipped her arms around her.

'Don't cry.' She whispered. 'Elliot says you can do anything, so you'll be fine.'

Olivia smiled and held onto one of her little arms.

'And if you're not,' Hannah continued, 'I'm still here.'

'How did you get so sweet?' Olivia asked her, careful not to let the emotion show in her voice, but she still trembled a little.

'You taught me.'

'Well, don't be scared. I'll be fine and…'

'…you'll explain later.' Hannah understood quickly, 'That's okay.'

Then Hannah just nuzzled her nose into Olivia hair, and Olivia felt the images slowly ebbing away.

* * *

**While the whole city is out partying on this special night, I'm writing you all another chapter! Enjoy ;)**


	33. Assistance

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 33: Assistance

Hannah walked through the station, without looking where she was going; she was reading. People had to jump aside suddenly to make sure Hannah wouldn't walk into them. They yelled at her to sit down and read. She yelled at them to sit down and shut up, but mostly she just ignored them. She couldn't move that fast, so it took her about an hour to get to the cafeteria like this. In there, Hannah checked at least three times if Cragen wasn't there, then she kicked the machine and drank her soda on the way back. If anyone would bump into her now and made her spill her drink all over her book, she'd kill them.

Earlier that morning they'd gone to ACS' building: Olivia and Hannah. The interview was awful, of course. At least that Mrs. Lane was gone, but instead there were about three others, including their boss: Mrs. Wilcox. There were a lot of questions about school and about her running away recently. They asked Olivia a thousand questions about how she was taking care of her. Hannah had to bite her tongue the entire time, especially when the overly sweet new social worker kept talking to her like she was some scared six year old.

Hannah was reading now to keep her mind of everything that had happened that morning. All those interviews, all those adults; Roald Dahl was a lot easier to understand. She walked up the stairs to the lounge out of habit. There she fell down on the couch with her book.

After the interview with Olivia and Hannah, they'd called in Dr. Huang. The adults talked about the effects of the traumatic events and her behavior coping with that. They didn't even seem to hear Hannah saying 'I'm fine' about a hundred times. And why did they want her to cry so badly, Hannah kept wondering, they wanted her to be sad?

'Hannah?' Olivia called up the stairs, 'Are you up there?'

'Yep.' She reluctantly put her book down.

'I'm just gonna go to get some lunch at the deli down the block. Wanna come?'

Hannah ran down and Olivia smiled at her energy. She was exhausted herself after everything today.

Before they'd even gone to ACS they had to go to Child Protective Services to see someone; the person Olivia had talked to the day before, who'd asked Olivia questions after the teacher had called them. Of course they had to examine Hannah themselves to see if there were any signs of abuse. Olivia understood that; normally she'd send a child there herself if she even suspected abuse. It's just that Hannah hated another person prodding at her.

In the supermarket down the block, Hannah picked up an apple and took a bite out of it straight away.

Olivia glared at her and Hannah stopped chewing at once, 'O, shit, I'm sorry.'

'I guess we'll buy you that apple.' Olivia shook her head.

'I'll pay you back.' Hannah said apologetically.

'No, you don't have to.' Olivia smiled at her, 'Just remember you have to pay first, then you can eat it.'

'Right.' She frowned, 'I'll remember.'

Something similar had happened at the subway, on their way to CPS' building this morning, Olivia remembered. You had to bleep your ticket or pass and then the small electric gate would open up. Olivia had gone first and Hannah had just jumped over one of them, so fast it was almost hard to notice.

'Hannah! You have to pay.' Olivia had called out.

'I'm already on the other side…' she said it like Olivia was really dumb.

'What if everyone would do like you do?' Olivia asked her sternly.

'Free subway!' Hannah held up her hands with a big grin on her face, 'Everyone's a winner!'

Olivia thought it best not to mention that incident to the social workers.

When the girls walked back into the precinct, Cragen called Hannah into his office. What did I do now, Hannah thought. With a shock she tried to remember what she'd done with the soda can.

'Hello.' Hannah said carefully as she walked in.

'Don't be scared,' he said to her and Hannah relaxed a little, 'unless you've done something you shouldn't have… Have you?' He looked at her intently.

'Nope.'

He thought she'd answered too quickly. 'Do you know where I've been today?' Cragen asked Hannah.

'No.' Hannah sat down.

'I've spoken with your social workers.'

'Oh.' Hannah said with a sigh, 'You didn't tell them about the soda, right?'

'The one today or the one before?'

Hannah turned crimson red at once and looked away.

'Yeah, I thought so…' Cragen said. 'But what I wanted to tell you is that I went to ACS to tell them I can vouch for Olivia being not only a great detective, but also a good guardian.'

'Really? Thanks!'

'Elliot was there as well. He'll be taking care of you, or watch you, when Olivia can't. Are you okay with that?' Cragen asked.

'Yeah. Elliot's cool.' Hannah nodded.

'Also, I said we'd look out for you, here at the precinct, so we're partly responsible for you now.'

Right then Olivia came in through the door.

Cragen looked up for a second, then continued speaking to Hannah, 'Do you understand what that means?'

'That I have to pay for the soda.' Hannah muttered gloomily.

Olivia looked at Hannah with a look that demanded an explanation.

'How does he know that?' Hannah only wondered. 'He wasn't even there, I checked!'

Olivia looked at Cragen for a second, who had his hands shoved into his pockets now, with an amused expression on his face. 'He's a detective, sweetheart,' Olivia explained, 'You probably told him without even noticing it.'

Hannah rolled her eyes and let her head fall back.

'None of that,' Cragen told her, 'If you don't want to get in trouble, follow the rules!'

'But there are so many…'

'Go help Munch with his paperwork: organize the files by date.'

'Why won't you just send her away? She is trouble and you don't really need that in a police precinct.' Olivia asked after Hannah had left.

'You want me to send her away?'

'No, but I can understand why you would.'

'I figured someone needs to teach her, be strict with her and if I just send her away, she'll never learn. I'll be just another person on that list inside her head. And I figured then it's only a matter of time before we find her back here, either on the mortuary slab or in cuffs, facing serious charges. I don't want to see that happen.' Cragen said.

'Thanks, Captain.' Olivia smiled.

'Besides, she isn't really that much trouble: when we're working on a case, she keeps out of our way and is quiet until the case is closed, everyone who works here seems to like her and she has no problem with the crazy hours. I'd say she's the perfect police' kid.' Cragen smiled back at her, 'Just one with a talent for mischief.'

Then a grateful Olivia told her Captain why she'd come in. They'd arrested a teenage boy for stealing and he looked like he'd been abused. Slight problem: he wouldn't talk. He didn't even want to open his mouth. Cragen said he'd get Child Protective Services to come over and ordered Olivia to take him to the interview room for juveniles.

After very little success with the boy, a female police officer took him to the soda machine. Maybe calming him down would open him up. Olivia came out of the room, rubbing her eyes. Hannah looked at her for a second. She was sitting on the floor, leaned up against the wall: one of her favorite positions for reading.

Then the boy came back into the squadroom. He looked at Hannah for a little while and started laughing, 'They said you was with five-O now.'

Hannah looked up. ' 'Sup.' She said, calmly and obviously recognizing him.

He held out his hand and Hannah bumped her fist against his. 'How are you doing?' he asked her.

'I'm good.' She said and smiled at him.

'You look good. Clean.'

'You look like hell. What happened?' Hannah asked.

'You know…' he said.

'I know.' Hannah said.

Olivia looked at both kids with her mouth open wide open.

'He speaks.' Elliot said, joining Olivia. But as soon as the detectives walked over to them, he closed up immediately.

Elliot took the boy away and Olivia stayed with Hannah.

'You know him?' Olivia asked her.

'Yep.' Hannah said, without looking up from her book.

'He won't talk to us.'

'Of course not; you're cops.'

'What's his name?' Olivia asked.

Hannah laughed. 'If I tell you now, behind his back, he'll think I've been saying all kinds of things about him.'

'Hannah, he's been abused. You know it's only a matter of time…'

'Before he ends up dead.' Hannah finished slowly, 'I know.'

'I just want to help him.' Olivia said.

'So am I.' Hannah said.

'Okay, well, tell me this.' Olivia tried. 'Does he live rough?'

'No, he's in foster care.' Hannah said after hesitating for a while.

'Okay thanks! Now, how old is he?'

'Can I just talk to him? Hannah cut her off, 'You can be there, if you want.'

'Sure, we can give it a go.' Olivia agreed.

Elliot looked up when Olivia and Hannah came in the room.

'Hey.' Hannah said to the boy and Elliot's gaze went from them to the boy.

'You're working for them now?' he asked Hannah. He seemed angry.

'No,' Hannah said, 'what the hell do you think I am?'

'A snitch.'

'Well, fuck you then.' Hannah made a move to walk out.

'Wait!' he called after her, 'I'm sorry, okay? I know you're cool. What did you want?'

'Just to talk to you.' Hannah said.

'How did you two met?' Elliot asked him carefully.

'She used to hang around.' He answered him for the first time.

'Yeah? You used to play together?' Elliot asked.

He nodded, 'We used to keep an eye on her.' He looked up at Hannah, 'She was always by herself.'

'Like her big brother?' Olivia asked with a smile on her face and Hannah smirked.

'I bet she's trying to do the same thing right now. Right, Hannah?' Elliot looked at Hannah and she nodded.

'How did you end up here?' The boy asked her.

'They dragged me in here.' She answered sarcastically.

'And you let them? That doesn't sound like you, at all.'

'Not really…'

'She didn't say a word and fought us all the way.' Elliot summed up.

'Just talk to them. It took me ages to figure it out, but they'll try and help you, for real.' Hannah said.

'What's your name?' Olivia tried again.

'Zane Weatherby.' He sighed, after eyeing Hannah for a while.

'Don't look at me!' Hannah called out, as both detectives turned to her, 'It's the only name I know of.'

'How old are you?'

Zane took a deep breath and started talking. 'I'm 14. I live with my foster parents, Angela and Richard Lowe. They live at West 85th Street, number 55B. Their number is 917 384 5551.'

'Thank you.' Elliot smiled, 'That doesn't take away the fact that you'll face criminal charges for stealing that cap.'

'You stole a hat?' Hannah asked with eyebrows raised.

'Should've let you do it, huh.' Zane replied, 'You never got caught…'

'Will you shut up…' Hannah whispered.

'I thought you was like the cops' pet.'

'I'm not no one's pet!'

'Okay, back on subject.' Elliot said, 'You'll face charges and you'll get a record.'

'You won't send me to jail, right?'

'Probably not, but we need to talk to your foster parents and social worker. Is this the first time you were arrested?'

'Yeah.'

'This is bullshit,' Zane leaned back in his chair, 'Everyone knows you people only do sex crimes. What do you want with me?'

'You're sporting a black eye there and we've talked to your teachers. You have a lot of unexplained injuries.'

Zane closed his mouth.

'Someone's abusing you,' Olivia said, 'Tell us who so we can stop him.'

'I play sports a lot. I get hurt.' Zane said.

Olivia looked at Hannah and put a hand on her back.

'No!' Hannah said decisively, 'If he says no one did anything, I'm not saying shit.'

Zane smiled at Hannah, but she shook her head. 'You're an idiot.'

'Whatever.' He muttered.

'Just tell them, they'll make it right.'

He scoffed, 'Really…'

'I swear.' Hannah said.

'You swear?' he looked up at her. 'You're just a street rat. Don't think you're more just because you hang around a bunch of cops now. You swear? You ain't got nothing to lose and nothing to swear on.'

'I swear on my Yankees cap.' Hannah smirked.

'Hand it over.' He laughed.

'Cough it up.'

Zane got serious again and he looked down with a sad expression.

'Is it your foster dad that's been hurting you?' Elliot tried.

Zane sighed, 'He gets mad when I don't do good in sports. I train all the time, but he keeps saying I could've done better.'

'You're a big kid.' Elliot commented, 'You look like you train a lot.'

'He's bigger.' Hannah said.

'What about your foster mother?' Elliot asked.

'She turns temporarily blind at those moments.' Zane said sarcastically.

'Didn't your social worker pick up on this?' Olivia asked.

Hannah scoffed and Zane said, 'See, she understands. Most adults see what they want to see, and that is very little. Besides, Richard's not stupid.'

'What do you mean?' Elliot squinted his eyes.

'He beats me where you can't see it!'

'Where?'

Zane waited a while to reply, 'He takes a baseball bat to my gut.' His voice broke. 'He says I act like a girl and need to behave like a man, take it like a man.'

Olivia ran her hands through her hair and sighed deeply. 'He's going to jail; we'll make sure of that. He won't be able to touch you ever again.'

Later, when the social worker had come, Hannah just sat with Zane. They didn't really speak. She just said she was glad he'd told them. Zane would be taken to a shelter for now, until they'd find a new foster family for him.

When they took him away, Zane smiled at Hannah, 'Guess you'll be keeping that cap.'

'Told you.'

'I'll see you around?' Zane asked.

'Sure. I'll come see you at the shelter.' Hannah said.

'And I'll come and see you,' Zane looked up at Olivia suspiciously, 'make sure these cops are treating you right.'

'Thanks.' Hannah laughed.

'See ya, kid.' Zane smiled, as he put a hand on her shoulder. He was almost quite her size; it looked cute.

Just as he was about to walk out of the building, Zane turned around, 'Word on the street, the boss is dead.'

'He is.' Hannah said.

'How do you know for sure?'

Don't think about the cellar, don't think about the cellar, don't think about the cellar. Don't think about the gun. Don't think about the sound of the bang. Don't think about the blood. Don't think about the cellar…

'I just know.'

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	34. Past

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 34: Past

At the police precinct another perp was being hauled in.

After they'd gotten to the drug lord through Hannah, a whole web of drug dealers seemed to emerge. Some of them were only smugglers or drug runners. The detectives didn't really care about them; Narcotics could deal with it. The people they really cared about were the people high up on the ladder; the men who had made kids work for them and anyone associated with that business.

Because the number of kids that were involved kept on growing. A lot of them were in foster care and Hannah had to identify them, most of the time. She usually had to talk to them, to calm them down. Dr. Huang didn't really like this. He said Hannah had to overcome her own traumas first. Captain Cragen agreed; this was not the way they'd usually handle things. They didn't usually put such a big burden on a child, but Hannah insisted. She wanted the kids safe and the bastards behind bars and no was going to stop her.

This man in particular was described to them by a 15 year old girl. Her name Jenni and her parents neglected her; that's how she got into the business. After a year she'd been forced into prostitution as well, passing her around the different men. She'd seen one of the men in the city, with his wife and kids, and after she'd followed him home, she had his address.

They had interrogated him for hours before they'd gotten somewhere. Elliot and Olivia were dead tired and annoyed. I want a shower, was all Olivia could think. She always felt dirty after talking to such people. They took him away and Hannah looked at him from behind the file cabinet. She had jumped behind it when she saw him.

'Don't be scared, 'Olivia said, as she held out her hand, 'he's going to prison for a very long time.'

Hannah still refused to come out. 'I know, it just feels safer here.'

'I bet it does.' Olivia smiled at her. 'Is it okay if I just sit here?' She slid down the wall until she was on the same level as Hannah.

'Why are you so scared of him?' Olivia asked her after a while.

'He's mean.'

'Was he mean to you, too?'

Hannah shrugged. 'Sometimes.'

Olivia held out her hand again, 'Come on, sit with me. I'll protect you.' Hannah crawled out and sat on Olivia's lap.

'Hannah, I have to ask you something,' Olivia started. She hated this and fear almost chocked her. 'Did he ever rape you?'

Hannah shook her head but didn't say a word.

'Did anyone ever rape you?'

She shook her head again, 'I know what rape is, and they didn't rape me.' She sounded distant.

Olivia nodded and continued, 'Well, did he ever hurt you?'

'Yeah…'

'Did he beat you?'

'No…' Hannah looked desperate. She didn't want to talk about this.

'Baby, I know you don't like talking about this,' Olivia understood, 'but if you tell me now, I won't ask you any more questions about this. It will send him to prison for a very long time.'

'Won't Jenni's story put him away?' Hannah asked.

'It will, but don't you want him punished for what he did to you, too? I know I want that.' Olivia said.

'Sometimes the boss gave me to some of his friends.' Hannah started, 'They didn't rape me, but they… touched me.'

'And this man was one of them?' Olivia asked.

'Yeah.'

'How many men were there?'

'Five, most of the times.' That fits Jenni's story, Olivia thought.

'Okay, baby, you're doing great. Now, can you tell me where they touched you?'

'Everywhere.' Hannah said flatly.

Olivia felt sick at the thought. 'What else did they do?'

Hannah looked up at her with her big eyes.

'Be brave, sweetheart.' Olivia stroked her curls for a second, 'Tell me.'

'They made me do stuff to them…'

'Touch them?'

'Yeah and other stuff… I didn't want to! But he held a gun to my head and there wasn't really anything I could do…' Hannah voice faded away.

'You survived, sweetheart. That's the most important thing.' Olivia told her, softly.

'How does that help?' Hannah asked.

'Now you can testify against him. You think you'll be up to it?' Olivia asked her carefully.

'Hell yeah!' Hannah practically shouted, 'Wait, I have to see him again?' she added, sounding nervous again.

'He'll be in court, yes.'

'Will you be there?'

'Of course, just look at me, okay?' Olivia reassured Hannah, 'Alex will be there as well. She'll explain everything that'll happen in court before the hearing. There's nothing to be nervous about. Just tell your story to the jury and this man…'

'… will rot in prison.' Hannah finished, 'That's good.'

'That's what we do.' Olivia smiled.

They got up from behind the file cabinet. Olivia held Hannah's hand as they walked to Cragen's office. Olivia told her to wait for her outside for a second. Inside, she told her Captain what Hannah had just told her.

'And he is the one who held the gun to her head?' Cragen asked.

'That's what she says, yeah. She was scared to death when he walked by; she hid behind a file cabinet as soon as she saw him.'

'But is she up to testifying?' Cragen had to be sure.

'She is. She says she wants him to rot in prison.'

'So do we,' he said, 'but with both Hannah and Jenni's testimony, he'll go down for sure. It would be better though if we have the gun. I'll get Cabot to issue a search warrant. Let Hannah describe the gun to an officer and we'll see if it's a match. Also, Hannah has to officially point him out in a line-up.'

Olivia nodded, 'And we already have him on his fake alibi and the coke in his blood.'

'Do you think Hannah can do this every time we catch one of them?' Cragen was concerned.

'It's hard for her, but I think in a way it helps her to know they're getting punished,' Olivia said, 'It makes her feel more safe. She's still scared one of them will come and kill her.'

'They could try something like that, now that we've started to arrest people. You or Elliot, or even Fin or Munch, must always be by her side, when she's not in school. Don't let her wander around the city alone anymore.'

'I won't.'

'Take Elliot with you for the search.'

Olivia nodded and walked out of the office.

'What's going to happen now?' Hannah asked as she looked up at Olivia.

'Well, you like guns, right?' Olivia asked Hannah and she picked her up. Hannah nodded happily. 'You're not getting one.' Hannah face fell. 'But I know you know a lot about them.'

'I guess…' Hannah said.

'Can you tell this officer what the gun that man held to your head looked like? Do you remember?'

'Why?' Hannah wanted to know.

'We are going to try and find that gun then and that way we can prove it.'

'I think I remember.'

'Good!' Olivia smiled at her, 'I'm just going to talk to Alex for a second; I'll be right back.

As Hannah described the gun to a police officer, Olivia talked to Alex about Hannah being another witness for her case against their perp. Olivia asked her to make sure Hannah felt confident in court, also because she most likely was going to be a witness in a lot more cases.

'I got you your warrant,' Alex said, waving the blue bit of paper around, 'Cragen already called me.'

'Thanks.' Olivia said.

'I'll prep Hannah for the proceedings in a few hours. Join us at the courthouse if you're back already by then. That way you can let me know if you've found anything and Hannah will like you being there I think.' Alex said.

Olivia quickly rushed out to get Elliot, so they could execute the search warrant.

The police officer, who sat with Hannah had a hard time keeping his own gun away from the little girl's hands.

'But I need it to compare!' she argued.

'Compare without touching it!'

Eventually it was quite clear to him what kind of gun he'd had. Hannah had remembered a lot of details.

'Did I do good?' Hannah asked him.

He smiled at her. It was one of the first moments she didn't annoy him. 'You did good.'

'So what do I get?' Hannah smirked, 'Nothing's for free you know.' She held out her hand.

'You're gonna get a slap if you don't behave!' he pointed a finger at her, but Hannah just stuck out her tongue.

As they started a heated discussion, Munch came walking by. He quickly took a still cursing Hannah away by the arm and told her he needed her help.

'That man,' Hannah still fumed, 'is an ass.'

Munch glared at her from over his glasses, 'Watch your language, young lady. Even the truth must be spoken in polite words.'

'So you think I'm right?' Hannah grinned. Munch didn't answer and just kept on walking.

A few hours later, the two detectives returned from their search, with a gun. They'd also found a his stash of cocaine, which they'd send to the lab to see if it was from the same batch they'd found at the boss' place. The gun was a perfect match to Hannah's description.

'He'll go to prison now, right?' Hannah asked, happily, but mostly with relief.

'That's for the judge to decide,' Cragen told her, 'but there's no way he's getting out of all this evidence. So, yes.'

'Thank you for all your help.' Olivia said to her. 'I know that was hard for you.'

'You're a real hero.' Cragen smiled down at her.

Hannah turned red and looked away, shy. 'Yeah… I'm just gonna go play there for a while... bye.' And she quickly fled the squadroom.

The detectives laughed at her escape-act and Munch turned to Olivia. 'You better make sure you actually get to adopt her.'

'I'm trying…' Olivia said with a sigh. 'But why do you say that?'

'Because when I dragged her away from the police officer who she had to describe the gun to, they were fighting. Hannah was yelling at him.' He told her.

'What did she do this time?' Elliot smirked, with one eyebrow raised.

'It's not what she did, it's what she said.' Munch laughed.

'That's usually the problem…' Cragen mumbled.

'She shouted to him: 'you better not point your finger at me like that; you're just a police officer, but my mom's a detective!' '

'Maybe we shouldn't send her to that officer again...' Cragen said, but he couldn't really hide the smile on his face.

Olivia didn't even try to hide her grin.

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	35. Justice

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 35: Justice

Alex came walking into the squadroom soon after and wanted to start prepping Hannah for the trial.

'Do you need me to be there?' Olivia asked.

'Not really… I'll just go over how everything works in court, so she'll feel confident up there. Maybe you do want to be there when I go over the questions with her.' Alex said.

'No, she'll be fine in court; she likes you, but I'll be there when you prep her for the questions, yeah.'

As Hannah and Alex walked over to the courthouse, Hannah had a thousand questions already.

'Why do you call yourself 'the people'?'

'I'm an Assistant District Attorney; I speak for the people of New York.' Alex explained.

'I still think it sounds a bit up yourself…' Hannah said.

'Really?' Alex looked at her.

'Hmm. But you make sure people get punished, right?'

'Yes.' Alex said, 'do you approve of that?' she added sarcastically.

'Yeah, that's good.' Hannah nodded.

They went inside and Alex showed her around the court. She showed her where the jury would be and where the judge sits.

'Oh! Can I bang the hammer?!' Hannah ran forward.

'No, only the judge is allowed to do that.' Alex said with a smile.

'Alex?'

'Yes…'

'They wanted to charge me with theft and loads of other bullshit, right? So would you also have been the one who would have tried to send me to prison?' Hannah asked out of the blue.

'Probably, yes.'

'Why?' Hannah said with big eyes.

'Because you broke the law.' The ADA explained the obvious. 'But you never got charged, remember?'

'Yeah… So where do I sit?'

'Right here.' Alex showed her to the witness box. 'Why don't you take a seat.'

Once she sat down, Hannah became really quiet. She just sat there and Alex leaned in closer.

'He'll sit right there, but just look at me when I ask you something.' Alex said, comforting.

'What if shoots at me?' Hannah asked.

'He's been in jail, so he won't have a gun. The police officers took it.'

'So what can he do?'

'He can't do anything to you anymore.' Alex emphasized, 'the only thing he will try, is look at you. He will try to scare you by staring at you and hoping you'll refuse to answer the questions.'

Hannah nodded silently.

'Don't let him win.' Alex said slowly.

'What are the questions about?'

'About how you know him, about the gun, about the drug business and about what he did to you.'

Hannah sucked in some air. 'Will the other dude, the creepy one, ask me things as well?'

'Langan? Yes, he's his lawyer.'

'I don't want to talk about what happened...' Hannah muttered.

'You don't have to.'

'But I will, I want him gone.'

'So do I.' Alex smiled. 'Don't worry; we'll practice the questions so you'll know what to expect and what to say. We'll even practice what the lawyer might ask you.'

'Right now?

'No, not right now. I think you're going to get something to eat now; it's almost diner time.' Alex said.

'What about you? Don't you eat?' Hannah asked.

'I eat.'

'You seem like the kind of person who just works all the time. You never do anything else.' She explained.

'I do work a lot, but I do other stuff as well.' Alex pondered out loud.

'Like what?' Hannah wanted to know, of course. Alex had to think about that for a while. What did she do?

'Hannah!' Elliot called out, as he came walking up to them. He smiled at her. 'I was looking for you.'

'Why?'

'There's someone I want you to meet.' He said.

'I think we're about done for now.' Alex said to Hannah. 'We'll do the questions tomorrow.'

Hannah walked with Elliot out the door, while she asked him about a thousand times whom he wanted her to meet. She guessed another cop, a lawyer, a teacher or a MLB player. None of them were correct though. Then she guessed it was another kid they'd found on the streets or another psychiatrist. She really didn't want another one, so she was glad she was wrong about that one too.

Just before they were back at the precinct, Elliot told her. 'I want you to meet my kids; the twins.'

Hannah stopped at once. 'They're here now? Why?'

'I'm going out to diner later with my family. They came to pick me up, with Kathy.'

'I can't go in there.' Hannah looked up at him with big eyes. She seemed very determined.

'Why?' Elliot was confused.

'Because your wife has these four perfect kids and she'll take one look at me and pull up her nose like all fancy ladies do!' Hannah practically shouted, 'And your kids will see me and laugh at me 'cause I've never been to school and they'll think I'm dumb and weird.'

Elliot knelt down. 'They won't think that. They've been wanting to meet you actually.'

'What did you tell them about me!?' Hannah panicked even more.

'Just that you're with Olivia now and you're a great kid.' Elliot said.

'You probably told them I got arrested and that I'm a smartass, like you always say…'

'I told them you like to play basketball.' He smiled at her, 'And so do they.'

'They do?' Hannah mumbled.

'Yeah, and I told them you're really good at drawing.'

Hannah scraped one foot over the sidewalk, as she looked down.

'Come on, let's go inside.' Elliot took her hand and they walked inside.

Both his kids were standing at his desk, talking to each other and playing with some of Elliot's stuff. They were twelve years old and looked alike, if you looked at them closely that is; they had the same icy blue eyes with a sort of mysterious expression. The girl, Lizzie, had long blond hair and she had an air of intelligence over her. The boy, Dickie, had the cocky and arrogant expression he had inherited from his father.

Hannah looked at them and all of a sudden felt terrible about her old cap, filthy pants and uncombed hair. Also, she felt very small.

'Dickie. Lizzie, this is Hannah.'

'Hi.' They both said to her.

Hannah opened her mouth to say something, but then quickly looked down, silently.

Olivia watched from her desk. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; Hannah was being shy.

The twins looked at each other for a second and smiled. They thought she was kind of cute. Their dad had told them a little about Hannah; they knew she used to live on the streets and that Olivia took care of her now. So she must have no parents or family of any kind and they felt bad for her because of that.

'Have you eaten yet?' Elliot asked Hannah. She was still hanging onto his hand and didn't look like she was planning on letting go any time soon. Hannah shook her head.

'I'm not that hungry…' she mumbled.

'Dad, are you almost done here?' Dickie sighed.

'I just have to finish up some paperwork.' His father said to him.

'Hey, dad, can we go play some ball?' Lizzie asked him.

'Sure… I think you can find a ball with the lockers.'

'Hannah, you wanna come?' Lizzie tried again.

Hannah nodded excitedly and ran off ahead of the other two kids, to the lockers. A few moments later, three kids, with a ball, stormed through the squadroom again and made their way out.

'So cute, they bond over sports.' Elliot commented.

'It'll be good for her, to play with some kids. She spends all her time with us.' Olivia said.

'Does she have friends in school?' Dr. Huang asked her.

'Not really; she never talks about anyone.' Olivia said, 'She doesn't have a lot of classes with the other kids and some pick on her because she hasn't been to school before.'

'How does she deal with that?'

'She gets mad.' Olivia said simply.

'I'll talk to her teacher,' Dr. Huang frowned, 'It really would be best for her to have as many classes with the others as possible, or at least PE and recess.'

'Hey, baby.' Kathy walked up to Elliot. 'Ready to go?'

'I will be in a sec.' he held up his hands.

'Sure,' she smiled a tired smile, 'where are the kids?'

'They're on the court 'round the back, playing basketball.'

'I'll check on them, okay? You'll join us when you're ready, I'm sure.' Kathy gave him a quick kiss and walked off.

'Better hurry up, or you can order in pizza's.' Olivia said, with a hidden smile.

Elliot grumbled something inaudible and started organizing his papers again. When he was done, he called Kathy up.

'See ya tomorrow.' He said to Olivia, as he put on his coat. 'O and by the way, here's your kid.' He pushed Hannah forward, laughing. She'd just come in from outside.

'How did you get your pants dirty after one day?' Olivia asked her, looking at Hannah. She'd started to sound more like a mother every day.

'I play outside.' Hannah sighed. 'You get dirty, right? When you chase someone or when you dig through the trash.'

'I don't get dirty every single day!'

'Whatever…' Hannah climbed onto Olivia desk and went from there to Olivia's lap, where she curled up.

'You're like a little monkey.' Olivia laughed.

'I'm nervous for tomorrow…' Hannah whispered.

'So am I.'

'No, you're not.' Hannah shook her head. 'You're not afraid of anything.'

'Why would you think that?' Olivia asked, surprised.

'So what are you afraid of then?' Hannah looked up, 'Tell me one thing you're really really really afraid of.' A thousands answers went through Olivia's head.

'You already know.' Olivia whispered and she looked around for a second to make sure no one else was listening. She didn't want everyone to know her business.

'I'm scared of my own dreams.' Olivia said to her.

'Yeah, so am I.' Hannah sighed.

'Did you have fun with Elliot's kids?' she changed the subject.

'Yeah, they're cool.' Hannah said. 'It was… informative.'

'Informative? How so?'

'Elliot snores, apparently, and he reads Vogue.'

'He buys Vogue?' Olivia repeated a little louder.

'No, it's Kathleen's, he just reads it.' Hannah explained.

'We need to remember that.' Olivia sounded just a little evil, 'That may be useful.'

'O I will, don't worry.' Hannah said. She took Olivia's hand, picked up a marker and started drawing on the detective's arm. Olivia looked at her for a second and decided to let her.

'We should go, kid. You have a lot of questions to answer tomorrow.' Olivia motioned Hannah to get down.

As Hannah made her way to the hall, yawning, Cragen walked up to Olivia. 'Is she ready for tomorrow?'

'No, but she's determined.' Olivia said.

'That's good. Now, would you like to explain what that on your arm means? Something I need to know?' Cragen pointed to Olivia's wrist. In black marker letters is read: Olivia + Elliot, with a little heart next to it.

'Hannah…' Olivia grumbled. 'Yeah, you better run!' she called out to her, as she saw a lot of dark hair heading for the stairs.

'You know, that doesn't wash off for days.' Cragen smirked.

'That's great…'

'Don't kill her, she's a witness in our case.' He said as he went back to his office, 'Good night!'

The next morning Alex went over the questions with Hannah so many times. Hannah got tired and wanted to pull out a few times, but never actually did. They started from the beginning again and again and again, until Hannah could dream the answers and she was no longer scared to answer. The same went for Alex actually; she had to get used to hearing that story from a little girl's mouth, but she didn't let Hannah notice that.

That afternoon the hearing took place. Hannah jumped around nervously outside, waiting to be called in. Jenni came out after her testimony.

'Was it scary?' Hannah asked her at once.

'That lawyer is a jerk,' Jenni sighed, 'but it's not really scary. You'll be fine and you'll be glad once it's over.' She smiled at Hannah.

'She's right.' Olivia smiled at her as well, 'it'll be over soon.'

Hannah went in with Alex and Olivia followed them through the large doors.

When they came out again, Elliot was sitting outside with Jenni, waiting for her.

'How did it go?' he asked her.

'She did really good.' Olivia sounded proud, 'We'll hear from the jury soon.'

'I hated it.' Hannah slumped down on the bench. 'That lawyer is a jerk. He wanted the jury to think I was too little or too fucked up to remember him. It was bullshit…'

'But you did it.' Elliot elbowed her gently.

'You held on to your story and didn't get mad,' Olivia added, 'most adults can't even do that.'

'I guess it'll be easier from now on.' Hannah said softly. 'I already did one and I don't even know if the jury believes me or not, but it can only get easier now, right? I can do the others as well.'

'Guilty on all charges!' Alex came walking out, along with a lot of other people. 'The judge wants to see you, Hannah. And I just wanted to say, you did great.' She smiled at Hannah.

As they walked inside again, Hannah, Olivia and Alex, Hannah went over to the judge's chair and pretended a pen was a hammer. She started to sing, while tapping her pencil,

' _''I rock a law suit, when I'm going to court,_

_a white suit, when I'm getting divorced, _

_a black suit, at the funeral home,_

_and my birthday suit, when I'm home alone…' _

'Please don't sing that in front of the judge…' Alex said at once.

'Too late.' A stern voice said, 'Will you get down from my seat, please.' Hannah scrambled out of the way as quickly as she could.

'But I actually wanted to thank you for your testimony, Hannah.' Liz said, more friendly now.

'That's why you wanted to talk to me?' Hannah asked in disbelieve.

'Yes, I know this is hard on you after everything that has happened.'

'I'm a victim of the traumatic events that is called my life, I know.' Hannah repeated the shrinks with ease.

'We all are,' Judge Donnelly said to her, 'It's what you do with it that counts.'

'Thanks.' Hannah smiled.

'Now, please don't sing something like that again in my court.'

Hannah looked at Alex for a second, 'Yes, ma'am.'

'Liv, I got to talk to you.' Elliot took Olivia aside for a second. 'It's almost summer vacation, the schools I mean.;

'I know, I have no idea how I'm going to keep Hannah busy all that time.'

'The twins are going to a camp organized by the church. They just play, do fun things for a week. Hannah might like it.'

'I'll ask her,' Olivia nodded, 'Thanks, El.'

'Take her home, the kid is drained.' Elliot said, 'go watch Finding Nemo or something.'

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**The song is 'I just wanna live' by Good Charlotte**


	36. Summer

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 36: Summer

At first, Hannah was a bit skeptical about the camp Elliot had talked about. She didn't really want to be away from Olivia for that long. But then Elliot told her about all the fun things they did at camp and, most important, it was a day camp: she would still sleep at home. Even Lizzie and Dickie tried to talk Hannah into going. They talked about the games they'd play, doing artwork, cooking and eating together with lots of kids and last year they even went sailing! Hannah was convinced.

The word 'summer' got a whole new meaning that summer. Hannah had never been to school, so she'd never had summer vacation. Summer meant nothing more to her than the temperatures going up and life on the streets getting just a little bit easier. Now it made sense to her why all kids counted the days till vacation started.

Camp was just awesome. The first day Hannah was shy for about a second; then she noticed all the kids fought to shout the loudest and that was one competition she was used to and good at. They played touch football on the first day and Hannah got quite a reputation after that. She refused to play with the girls and bossed the boys around. Elliot watched her telling Dickie what to do and was relieved when Dickie at least talked back to her.

'She's fast.' Dickie commented after the game.

'She sure is.' Elliot nodded.

'But I'm better at overseeing the game though.' He quickly added, 'She's a girl. She doesn't understand.'

Olivia and Elliot still had to work, so Olivia was glad Hannah could have fun all day long, even though she had little time for her. Just at night, around nine usually, Olivia or Elliot had to pick her up. Olivia loved seeing her then and it was clear the girl had missed her too. She'd spend almost an hour talking about what she did at camp; a lot of things were new to her. She's never played with this many kids, she'd never baked a cake and decorated it, she'd never done pottery or painted watercolors and she'd never made a macaroni necklace. Olivia had never gotten a macaroni necklace either.

'O, and I baked cookies too. Dickie didn't want to, he said it was for kids, so he and the older kids played some more football. But I baked a cookie in the shape of your golden shield! I wanted to show you, but I ate it…'

Olivia smiled at the little girl's rattling.

'Me and Kevin climbed a tree and swung this rope all the way down. It was so cool! And kind of scary, but we did it anyways. Kevin's my friend. O, and they taught me a song. They all knew it, but I didn't, because I never went to church. It was about Jesus being your friend and stuff… But it was fun! They taught us this dance with it too. A little girl taught me how to do it. Her name was Jess…'

Olivia opened up the fridge and tried to find something to eat in there. She took out a plastic bowl and took the lid off. Then she picked up a fork and started eating the salad, while sitting on the counter and listening to Hannah.

'You know what? Tomorrow we'll be doing arche…archerous…archy…whatever'

'Archery?' Olivia laughed.

'Yeah, shooting arrows! And I get to shoot with the big bow! I asked and he said it was okay. And we'll paint again and I get to paint a big picture this time. Last time I painted the church and I drew an elephant. Only I couldn't find the grey, so my elephant was orange…'

Hannah tried to climb up on the counter as well, but couldn't really pull herself up. She went over and started dragging a chair to the kitchen.

'Come here, baby.' Olivia motioned for Hannah to come to her. 'I'll help you.' And she lifted Hannah up and sat her down next to her. Then she put an arm around her.

'Do I get to see this orange elephant?' Olivia asked, 'It sounds very exotic.'

'Sure… O, wait. I left it in Elliot's car. You can have it later.' Hannah said.

'You're really having fun at camp, huh?' Olivia smirked.

'Yes!' Hannah exclaimed, 'But how was your day?'

Olivia laughed out loud at her sudden change of subject. 'It was fine, sweetheart.'

'I bet you saw terrible things again. You see terrible shit every day.' Hannah said, being very serious.

'But then I come home and have you and an orange elephant waiting for me.' Olivia nudged her gently, 'and you're all smiles and that makes it all okay.'

'Really?' Hannah smiled up at her.

'Really.'

On the forth day of camp the youth leaders took all the kids to the swimming pool, but Hannah refused. The leaders didn't understand what was going on at all; she'd been happy all week and now she simply refused and stopped talking all together. She just didn't want to go.

'But why don't you want to go?' Elias, one of the youth workers, asked her again.

'I just don't.' Hannah kept on repeating.

'You like me right?' Elias tried again. Hannah did like him; he was one of her favorites. 'I'll go as well.'

Still, she didn't say a word.

Then, after a few minutes, he suddenly understood. 'You can't swim.'

'Shut up!' Hannah got angry at once.

'That's okay.' Elias crouched down next to her, 'I'll teach you. I promise you it's easy; you'll be like a fish in no time.'

Hannah smiled a little. 'I don't wanna be a fish… they're slippery and freaky-looking…'

'Fine, no fish.' He laughed, 'but you'll be good very soon. I'll teach you somewhere else, if you want to, so the other kids won't know. Would you like that?'

Hannah nodded silently.

'Okay, let's go! It'll be fun.' Elias took her hand and led her to his car.

'I CAN SWIM!' Hannah shouted when Olivia came to pick her up. 'I SWEAR, I'M JUST LIKE A FISH!'

Elias smiled at Olivia and handed her Hannah's things. 'She's a natural, she was swimming around on her own after about an hour.'

'Thanks so much for teaching her.' Olivia said.

'No problem. She's a great kid.'

'This'll be great for her confidence.' Olivia said, as Hannah ran off again and talked to a little boy. He pulled out his handmade slingshot and Hannah shot a tree with it.

'Leave the tree alone!' Olivia joked, 'Let's go, Trouble.' Hannah said something to the kid and ran back to Olivia again.

After the last day of camp, Elliot picked Hannah and his kids up. He dropped the twins off at their mother's house and he took Hannah with him to the police station. They were still working on a case. This time it was his turn to listen to Hannah's rambling.

'We went canoeing down the river today. Ours fell over and I got scared at first, but now I'm the best swimmer there is, so I was fine. The water was cold and I nearly froze to death, but then we made a campfire back at camp. Lizzie showed me how to make these weird things with a cookie and chocolate and a marshmallow. I forgot what it's called… but it was good!'

'S'mores.' Elliot filled in.

'Whatever. I flew a kite as well, but it ended up in a tree. The youth leader told me to leave it, but I climbed up anyways. They kept shouting for me to come down, but I got it in the end. I didn't even fall, so I don't understand what all the fuss was about. O, and I did another drawing!'

They'd arrived at the precinct by then and got out of the car, as Hannah held up a big piece of paper. Expectantly she looked up at Elliot, waiting for his approval. They both stepped into the elevator and Elliot smiled while looking at her drawing.

'Hey, you're back!' Olivia hugged Hannah, when the little girl ran into her arms.

'I did a drawing.' She said.

'Of what?' Olivia asked.

'Of you all!'

Fin and Munch both looked up with suspicious looks.

'O, yeah.' Elliot grinned, 'You two are in there too.'

He held up Hannah's picture. She drew the police precinct with all five detectives standing in a row. They all had their arms crossed in front of their chest, looking very intimidating.

'My ears are not that big…' Munch said. His ears were quite big in Hannah picture, but still, Hannah looked at his ears with a doubtful look after his remark.

'No, they're bigger in real life.' Fin said dryly. He looked like a real gangster in Hannah's drawing, with a long ponytail and a mean look on his face.

'You know why they're that big?' Munch asked Hannah, as he bent down.

'Let me guess; to listen to all the conspiracies in the world.' Fin finished. Munch sighed theatrically and Hannah giggled at them.

'Well, I for one think you've captured me perfectly.' Elliot nodded.

'That's because you look like a bodybuilder.' Olivia smirked. 'But I look pretty.' She smiled at Hannah.

'Look, Captain, you've been made immortal in artwork.' Munch said, as Cragen came walking up.

'Is that macaroni?' Cragen asked, as he bent over the drawing. Because all five detectives were wearing dark sunglasses in Hannah's drawing. The frames of the glasses were made of macaroni and the glasses were made of black wax paper.

'So this is what we look like to a nine year old.' Cragen looked down on Hannah. She got a little nervous at his stare; she didn't want him to not like it. Then Cragen picked up the drawing and walked off with it. Hannah followed him with her eyes. He picked up a roll of tape and put it up on his door, for the whole of the precinct to see. Hannah lit up with pride.

'Perfect.' Olivia said, as she put a hand on Hannah's head.

Then Fin lifted Hannah up, grabbed a marker and walked over to the drawing, 'The artist needs to sign her work.' In big letters it now said: HANNAH underneath the drawing.

A few days later, the summer only got better and better; Olivia's week off started. That week they did everything together and Olivia was determined to make it the best week ever for Hannah. They went to the beach together to swim and build elaborate sandcastles. They went out for ice cream and went to the movies, or they just stayed in bed all morning, playing Clue. Olivia kept trying to convince Hannah that it made no sense for Colonel Mustard to kill Miss Scarlet, but Hannah replied stone cold that that was just cheating. They had a midnight feast, after Hannah had had a nightmare, complete with movie, which Hannah only saw halfway before she fell asleep, and midnight sausages. They went to the zoo, they went to the museum and they went to the park. The made pancakes and ate breakfast for diner. They did whatever they wanted, when they wanted. Olivia had the most relaxing week she'd had in years.

When the week was over, Olivia was glad to go back to work, but she'd miss spending so much time with Hannah. During the day Hannah would hang out at the precinct though, reading or drawing. Also, she'd started spending a lot of time with Elliot's kids, so she'd stay at their house as well. The twins had become close friends during camp and the other two girls had started to like her as well. They had to get used to her big mouth at first, Kathy most of all, but they all knew what her background was. Kathy felt bad for her and thought the structure of a family would be good for her. Hannah liked the big family and the chaos of it all.

The older girls treated Hannah like another little sibling. When Hannah hid behind the door and listened to Kathleen talking on the phone to her boyfriend, she threw a pillow over to her, angrily. 'I can see you, you know. Get out!'

Hannah stuck out her tongue and said, 'Say Hi to your boyfriend from me.'

Maureen opened her door at Kathleen shouting and pulled Hannah in. 'Hide in here, she might kill you when she's like this. Does Kath really have a boyfriend?'

'O yeah.' Hannah said, as she looked through Maureen's stuff on her desk.

'Stay out of my stuff.' Maureen warned her, as she pushed the little girl away from the desk.

'Do you have a boyfriend?' Hannah wanted to know next.

'Do you?' Maureen threw back.

'I'm nine!'

'Well, I'm eighteen. That's eighteen years of training with a dad who is a cop; don't even try to interrogate me.' She smiled as she sat down next to Hannah.

'Mine's a cop too.'

'Yeah, good luck with that.'

Downstairs, they could hear Elliot had come home. The heard him greeting Kathy and they heard Lizzie and Dickie jumping on top of him. Hannah got up, because she knew he would take her back home now. As Hannah got her things together to go back to Olivia, Maureen came running down the stairs. In her hand she held a little teddy bear.

'This was mine when I was little. Dad gave it to me.' She said to Hannah, 'You can have it.' She gave it to her.

Hannah took the bear and looked at it. 'I'm too old for stuffed animals.' She said, defensively. 'but thanks.' she added, softly.

Maureen smiled at her and Elliot looked at his daughter gratefully.

A few days later, Olivia asked Hannah, 'Where did you get that teddy bear? You carry it around with you everywhere.'

Hannah shrugged, embarrassed.

'It's cute.' Olivia said and Hannah relaxed a little.

Then Olivia's phone vibrated and she picked it up.

'Benson.'

Olivia looked at Hannah for a second. Hannah felt something was wrong straight away. She held the bear closer to her chest.

'Is there no other way?' Olivia asked the person on the phone. With a sigh, she hang up and sat down on the couch, facing Hannah.

'You know me and Elliot have a lot on right now.' Olivia started.

'Yeah. You're working on a big case.' Hannah was nervous.

'Yeah, well ACS heard about that. They also heard you sometimes sleep over at Elliot's place. So they want to make sure you're still doing okay.'

'I'm fine!' Hannah called out.

'I know you are, sweetheart. But ACS wants to keep you under observation at a home for a while, maybe only for one night.'

'No.'

'It's just for one night. They'll do some tests and they'll talk to you and then you'll come back here.' Olivia continued.

'No!'

Olivia looked Hannah straight in the eye. 'We have no choice.'

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**Please review :)**


	37. Mayhem

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 37: Mayhem

'You'll be sorry.'

Hannah sat in Cragen's office once again, slouched in her chair, with her arms folded and a royally ticked off look on her face. A bunch of adults stood around her, looking down on the little girl. Two of them were social workers.

'Is that a threat, Hannah?' Mrs. Wilcox asked her sharply. 'Because you know how I feel about those…'

'Lady, it's not a threat, it's promise:' and Hannah repeated once again, 'if you put me in that home, you'll be sorry.'

Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes. ACS was being difficult, but Hannah was being even more difficult. Then again, from a nine year old's point of view, it probably made sense to act out.

Captain Cragen took in a deep breath, 'Hannah, you will go and you will behave.' He looked at her intently. 'Now, can this circus be removed from my office? We do have actual work to do.'

Hannah threw the door open and walked out, followed by the two social workers.

'Are you okay?' Elliot asked Hannah.

'I'm fine!' She said, faking cheerfulness, 'but they won't be after tonight.' She pointed to the two women behind her.

'That can only mean one thing.' Fin said from his desk. 'Trouble.'

'Big trouble.' Munch added.

'She'll only make things more difficult for herself.' Elliot sighed.

'She doesn't care. She's pissed.' Fin said.

Olivia went over to her desk and put on her coat. 'How much damage can she do in just one night, right?'

'Ha!' Munch barked a laugh.

They took her to a home in Midtown Manhattan. It was a childrens home in an old house, with almost 40 kids living there. Hannah had been here before and greeted the kids she knew with a mischievous grin.

'Hey, Brooke.' Hannah bent down when a little blonde came running up to her, 'How you doin'?'

She smiled, 'Are you back for good?'

'Nope, just for one night.' Then Hannah leaned closer and whispered. 'I need your help, I need you to say something to all the other kids…'

Hannah put her stuff on her the bed she always slept in, after she'd said goodbye to Olivia. Another kid had the top bunk now, but Hannah kicked her out. They got into a fight over it at first, but Hannah assured her it was only for one night and then they'd never want her back in there again.

Because Hannah had a plan. A complicated and evil plan that had started to form in her mind the second Olivia told her ACS wanted to put her in a home. She said they'd be sorry if they put her in there, she planned on keeping her promise. Mayhem was coming.

Soon all the kids were whispering with anticipation. Brooke had delivered the message, as instructed. Some didn't like Hannah, but all knew of her reputation. And even though they thought Hannah was annoying, they all jumped at the opportunity of chaos.

For the first part of her plan, Hannah walked over to some of the big boys and asked them if they still kept most of the food in the kitchen cupboard with a padlock. Hannah was a little disappointed that none of them had a key, but she told them not to worry; she could open it. They laughed at her and dared her to prove it.

As Hannah picked the lock, with about ten pairs of eyes following her fingers, she told the little kids to make breakfast, even though it was almost 1 in the afternoon. Brooke would stand watch. They cooked the porridge and Hannah told them to save it in a pan and hide it somewhere. All the candy in the cupboard was taken out and when the social workers in the home found an empty storage and a lot of chewing and bubble blowing kids, suddenly none of them remember where they got the candy.

After that, all the kids were on Hannah's side. They helped her take the stuff she needed to her bed, by hiding it under their sweaters and shirts; bottles of honey and syrup, ketchup, flower, jelly, whipped cream and lots of tape.

A sixteen year old girl took Hannah aside and asked her why she was trying to get into so much trouble. 'They'll kill you after all of this. They'll lock you up and throw away the key.'

'No they won't' Hannah said, 'if they can't prove it's me. Of course they'll know it's me, because I said I would, but if they can't prove it; all they can do is regret taking me here when I said I didn't want to.'

The girl grinned. 'I like your style.'

'Just one night of chaos.' Hannah promised, with an evil smirk, 'and it'll be all they'll remember when they hear my name.'

In the living room, Hannah needed to know a few things to make sure all her plans worked out.

'Is today still the day potential foster parents come to visit?' she asked, as the kids pretended to watch TV.

'Yeah.' a lot of kids whispered in reply. 'I hate it when they come…'

'Yeah, it's like they come and see if they wanna buy you!' Another kid said in disgust.

'What about the central heating and the hot water boiler, where's that?' Hannah asked.

'Up in the attic and the boiler is in a storage room. What do ya want with that?' A boy asked.

'Nothing yet, but show me later.' Hannah said.

Then she ordered one kid to steal the markers from the kitchen, another kid to steal the shaving cream from the bathroom and she asked Stella, the sixteen year old girl, to go to the store, because she was allowed out, and buy her some balloons and hot sauce. Now all she needed to know was where the fire alarm was, but she remembered that from before.

Hannah knew she had about twelve hours to cause as much trouble as possible, so after the preparations, she was all set to go at 3 o'clock in the afternoon: right on time for the foster families. She had everything she needed and knew everything she needed to know for her plans.

The adults arrived with big smiles on their faces and talked to a lot of kids. All the kids' social workers were there too and a few psychologists. Today wasn't the day for the kids' real family to visit: Hannah had checked. These were just people none of the kids really liked. As some of the children put on their most angelic faces, a few others sneaked out of sight and up the stairs. They made their way up to the attic, where they opened a window and climbed onto the roof; all on Hannah's instructions. With them, they carried a big box.

Hannah waited downstairs, because she knew they needed time to get ready up there, and made sure a lot of social workers saw her, so they couldn't blame it on her later on. After enough time had passed, Hannah set off the fire alarm without anyone noticing.

Immediately panic broke out and all the adults fled outside. The kids did as well, pretending to be genuinely scared, but once outside, they all moved to the left side of the building.

On the roof, a few laughing kids saw the adults come streaming out of the building, and when they were in perfect view, they dropped their bombs from the box one by one.

The adults screamed as balloons exploded right and left of them, some filled with water, others filled with jelly. The kids hid under the cover of the left side of the building, laughing like crazy at the sight of the jumping parents. Soon, all were wet and covered in green pudding. Brooke almost fell over giggling.

The adults looked up, but couldn't see where the balloons were coming from. The social workers, also covered in goo, yelled out threats and some ran back inside to find the perpetrators. But the kids on the roof had dumped their bombs, made their made to the other side of the roof and climbed down from there, just as Hannah had explained. They joined the other kids on the side of the building and it looked like they'd been standing there all that time.

Hannah grinned at the chaos of screaming ladies, angry social workers and laughing kids: part one of her plan was complete.

Of course, the vibe in the house was a bit tense after that. They'd all been asked a thousand times who'd done it, but none of the kids knew, or so they said. They knew there was more to come and they wouldn't ruin the fun now.

Just before diner, Hannah sat on her bed. A boy named Benji guarded the door, but was actually more interested in what she was doing.

'But what is it for?' Benji asked her again and again.

'You'll see.' Hannah hissed, 'Now make sure no one comes in!'

She hid a tiny object in her hoody and went to the dining table with all the other kids for diner.

They ate macaroni and cheese and that was just perfect. One of the leaders of the house, a tall, dark, and now grumpy man, put the big pan on the table. Hannah threw her fork behind one of the plants and told him she didn't have one.

As he got up, with a frown, to get her one, all of the kids reacted fast as lightning. They gave Hannah the lid of the pan and she quickly taped a device to it. Attached to the device was a short electric wire with another part attached to it. Benji buried this part into the macaroni and before the leader had turned around again, he had put the lid back on the pan.

The kids were all quiet with anticipation as the adults made them say their prayers. They opened their eyes, watched the same man get up and heard the electric wire break as he pulled the lid off the pan. As a reaction, the tiny bomb Hannah had construed went off, and the macaroni and cheese exploded in his face.

All the kids stared at him with their mouths open for a second, when Hannah put part two of this plan in motion.

'FOODFIGHT!' she yelled, and all hell broke loose.

Macaroni, cheese and milk went flying in all directions. Kids screamed and sang at the top of their lungs at the same time. Some even jumped up on the table and all the adults could do was wait until it would stop. It was beautiful.

There were five leaders who actually lived at the house and two extra who helped out. This was important to know exactly. As they did the dishes and were made to clean the kitchen as a punishment, Hannah wasn't done yet. She played Frisbee with the plates and turned over all the buckets of water, flooding the kitchen. She later said she thought it would just go quicker that way. The adults' mood became darker and darker.

Two of the leaders went straight to the showers, to wash off the cheese from the foodfight, while the others watched the kids. Hannah whispered something to Ryan and he showed her to the boiler. It was getting harder and harder to get away without the adults noticing. Hannah told him to wait for about a minute and then turn off the hot water for the entire house.

She crept up the stairs and walked on her toes to the bathroom where they were showering. Bathroom locks were luckily the easiest the pick. She opened the door and on hands and knees moved in the steam. With their clothes in her arms she shut the door again on her way out, without making a sound. After having done so, she threw the clothes from the window and hid in one of the rooms.

She only had to wait for a few seconds, when she heard them both scream. They scrambled out of the shower and shouted in frustration when they found their clothes were missing. Some kids already came up the stairs because they'd heard the noise and the adults followed after them, quickly. You can imagine what happened next…

With a huge smile on her face, Hannah lay in her bed. All was going very well. The next part of her plan hardly needed any encouraging. All the kids were hyped up on candy and after that day and they didn't plan on sleeping. A pillow fight seemed only natural. Of course, the leaders were close to a burnout when the shouting started once again and feathers were flying everywhere. It took them hours to get the kids to settle down, to stop them from jumping on their beds and to return to their own.

But at 3 o'clock in the morning, Hannah woke all the kids up again. She divided them in teams. The little kids took out the pan of porridge again and took it down, quietly. Benji and some other boys took the shaving cream, ketchup and tape, and ran off. Hannah gave Brooke the superglue and warned her again not to get stuck herself! Stella knew where the central heating was regulated, up in the attic, and took off with the flower. Then Hannah took the honey and syrup, the markers and whipped cream. She, Ryan and two other big girls named Christel and Ramila went into the hall.

All the adults had their own bedroom and Ramila went in them one by one. She was like a ghost, so quiet and they never even noticed she was there. With the stolen goods in her arms, she winked at Hannah and climbed up on roof for the second time that day.

The other three then went in the bedrooms again and sprayed the honey and syrup all over the leaders. They covered their beds, but not their faces, so they wouldn't wake them up. Hannah was scared they would notice when she started drawing a moustache on their faces, but they all kept on sleeping. They sprayed the whipped cream in their hair and stifled their laughs at the funny sight.

Then they tiptoed back out and went back to their own bunk beds. In the kids' rooms, all the other waited, never even thinking about sleep. Hannah nodded to let them know everything had worked. Together they waited for all the other kids to come back from their missions as well. It had worked, the house was still silent and the adults hadn't noticed a thing.

Everyone whished Hannah good luck when she slipped out of her room, one last time. She rushed down the stairs and in the hall she saw, to her satisfaction, the silhouette of a body taped on the floor already, with a few ketchup stains here and there. She opened the front door to the house and made sure it didn't make a sound, not yet. Hannah took in a deep breath and screamed her best horror movie inspired scream and then slammed the door shut. Hiding out in the living room, she waited. Adults are so predictable.

The leaders of the homes woke up with a shock when they heard the little girl's scream pierce the night. They shot up in their beds and disgust crept over them when they found themselves glued to the bed. Sticky substances covered them and honey dripped all over their fingers as they tried to throw the covers off. Then of course, they felt at their heads in fear and found their hands digging into white cream. Some of the women screamed in horror and the kids high-fived each other in satisfaction.

The leaders were responsible for whatever kid was screaming and their panic won over their disgust. They sprinted down the stairs towards their front door and jumped back at what they thought was a body. A closer look proved it to be nothing more than tape and when they could see no child there, they knew they had to go and look outside. But when they slipped their feet into their shoes, another wave of disgust washed over them. A cold substance that almost felt like porridge washed over and between their toes and it stuck to their bare feet as they pulled them out again, groaning. By then, they had figured out that there probably was no kid outside, but that they were the victims of yet another prank.

The hollered angrily at all the kids to wake up and get out of bed. The prankster would be severely punished! Hannah giggled in the dark and went up to her room via the other stairs. Tired after everything that had happened that day, the adults hoisted themselves up the stairs by holding onto the banisters. With a sigh, they pulled back their hands, because even the banisters were covered in shaving cream. Great, just what they needed to make this night even worse.

Of course, the kids had absolutely no idea who could have done this. No one said a word and all failed at holding back their laughter at the sight of the ghosts covered in honey. As the leaders took yet another shower, the kids were sent to bed, with the promise of more punishment.

'I hope you all don't mind getting punished later on.' Hannah said apologetically, a little while later, 'If it gets too bad, tell them it was me. I'll be long gone by then.'

'Are you kidding me?' Stella called out, 'This was totally worth it! Did you see their faces.'

All the kids started laughing. This had been one of the best nights of their lives, actually.

'When do you have to leave?' Benji asked Hannah.

'They'll probably take me away tomorrow. They know it was me.'

'Too bad.' He sighed.

'Don't worry,' Hannah winked, 'I still have some ideas for breakfast left.'

The next morning they got hauled out of bed at 7, as part of their punishment. The kids went down in their pajamas, groggily at first, but they all cheered up when they saw the chaos they had caused. The fake dead body looked amazingly scary, shaving cream covered the walls and the shoes overflowing with porridge made everyone giggle. Brooke smiled with pride at the shoes glued to the kitchen door and Hannah padded her on the back in respect.

Just as planned, it was boiling hot inside the kitchen, because Stella had turned up the heating. It was almost hard to breathe, so hot and damp. The adults didn't even care anymore, they knew it was Hannah and wanted her gone. Unsuspectingly, they turned on the ceiling fan to get rid on some of the heat, and within seconds the entire kitchen was white with flower.

Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler walked up to the home where Hannah was put up for the night, when they noticed something was wrong. Normally they would have picked up on this due to their trained police instincts, but today it was hard to miss really. The first thing the saw was the underwear, flapping in the breeze on the flagpole. When they came closer to the door, they heard kids shouting like wild Indians inside. A big A with a circle around it, the sign for anarchy, was sprayed on the door. Elliot smelled at the white substance for a second.

'Shaving cream.' he concluded.

The social workers yelled at the kids and walked off with their own breakfast, not bothering anymore. Being sleep deprived made them even crankier. The kids followed them closely with their looks, as they lifted the fork to their mouths. It never really got old to hear them scream. Hannah winked at the other kids, and quickly threw her bottle of hot sauce out the window.

It was safe to say, the social workers had broken. Operation Mayhem was complete.

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**Lol, well, what did you think of Hannah's revenge? **


	38. Facing the consequences

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 38: Facing the consequences

The first thing both detectives noticed that was out of the ordinary about the woman, who opened the door for them, was of course the moustache. It was crudely drawn on her face with a black marker and it took a lot of willpower not to burst out laughing right there and then.

The woman looked like hell and didn't even ask them what they wanted; she just stared at the strangers on her doorstep with an exhausted look in her eyes.

'Can we come in?' Olivia asked, after an awkward silence.

She stepped aside. Olivia walked past her, but froze at what she saw. Behind her she heard Elliot making a sound that was something between a gasp and a laugh. Olivia didn't know whether to start cleaning at once, because she felt so bad for the woman, or turn around and run away as fast as she could. So she just stood there, looking at the chaos before her.

Kids were running around and screaming; the sound was deafening. As they ran, chasing each other, they made the feathers, which still covered the floor, fly around again. More shaving cream was on the walls and stairs.

Elliot walked over to the kitchen door and pulled at one of the shoes; it was glued immovable to the door. Then he pushed it open and more kids came out, with battle cries and painted faces. The kitchen was a mess of macaroni, pools of water and a thick layer of flower covering everything, including one of the social workers, who sat at the table.

Elliot turned around again and swept a few feathers away with his foot. 'Liv,' he pointed to what he'd found; the silhouette of the body, taped on the floor, 'I guess this proves it.'

Olivia nodded with a sigh. They had both feared from the start that this was Hannah's work, but Olivia didn't really want to admit it to herself that one little girl could do all this.

'How much damage can she do in one night, right?' Elliot repeated Olivia's words mockingly.

'But all by herself?' Olivia whispered back.

'I'm sorry, but what are you here for?" The woman asked them, sounding slightly annoyed. Elliot cocked his head to the side a little, thinking he spotted some shaving cream in her hair, too.

Olivia coughed once and a huge grin formed on Elliot's face. 'We're here too pick up one of the kids.'

'Which one?' There was definitely shaving cream and flower in her hair, Elliot concluded.

Olivia closed her eyes, in fear of the reaction, when she said, 'Hannah.'

Complete silence.

'We've come to pick up a girl named Hannah.' Elliot repeated, loudly. He was enjoying this way too much.

Then the woman broke down in what almost seemed sobbing. 'O my God, thank you! Take her, please, take her! Daniel!'

One of the other social workers came walking up. She said to him, 'They've come to take Hannah.'

'Praise the Lord…' he said, while rolling his eyes.

'I'm sorry,' Olivia said, bluntly, 'but you can't really expect us to believe that one little girl is responsible for all of this.' She gestured to everything around her.

Olivia elbowed Elliot in the ribs, to keep him from snickering.

As the woman walked off to find Hannah, the male social worker took a deep breath and hissing with anger, he told them the story. 'Do you have any idea what that 'little girl' you so fondly call her, is capable of? What she's done? First, she threw jelly waterballoons on the foster parents, after endangering everyone by setting off the fire alarms. Then she almost killed me, by throwing a bomb into the food and made all the kids go crazy by throwing the food around. She also broke most of our plates and messed with the showers and the adults taking a shower. She then caused another riot in the middle of the night, she pretended to run away, scared us half to death with that dead body stunt and broke our rules by leaving her bed. But that's not all. O, no, not even close.' His nostrils were flaring dangerously.

'She covered our beds ánd us with syrup and cream, she poured porridge into our shoes and drew on us with permanent markers.' He touched his upper lip for a second, embarrassed, where Hannah had drawn a perfect circus boss-like moustache.

Luckily, he then turned away, to talk to the other woman. So he couldn't see Elliot being unable to hide his laughter and hear Olivia's snort as she tried to hold back the giggles.

'El, stop laughing. This isn't funny.' Olivia hissed.

'You're right: it's brilliant!' He chocked out.

'What if this was one of your kids' doing?'

'I'd kill them.' He almost sounded serious this time, 'but it's yours, and that just makes it so much better.'

'You think this is a laughing matter!?' Daniel had spun around, facing Olivia all of a sudden. 'Because that is not all she did; she also glued our shoes to the wall, broke our central heating, put hot sauce in our food, covered the kitchen in flower and worst of all, turned all the kids against us!'

'I'm very sorry,' Olivia said. She still failed at hiding her amusement though, 'I think it's best if I just take her off your hands now.'

'Good luck finding her.' the woman scoffed, 'this place is a mess…'

Right at that moment, Hannah came skidding down the hall. She slid through the shaving cream, with a broad grin on her face, but froze at once when she saw Olivia and Elliot standing there.

Then her face went through three stages of recognition very fast. First there was the 'O shit they're here' stage: shock. Then there was the 'I'm in sooo much trouble' stage: acceptance. The final stage happened very fast, the 'it wasn't me' stage: denial. And Olivia Benson could see right through all three of them.

Elliot motioned to Hannah to come over, with his finger. Olivia looked at him for a second, and was relieved he had his strict and serious parent face on. All the amusement was drained from his look, she only thought she could still detect a hint of irony in his eyebrows.

Hannah walked over to them sulkily and as slowly as possible. She looked at her feet when she stopped in front of them.

'Are you mad?' She looked up at them, making her big brown eyes do their work. Olivia thought she even batted her eyelashes a few times.

Elliot opened his mouth to answer, but Olivia cut him off. 'Go get your stuff, right now!'

'But…' Hannah started.

'Right now.' Olivia repeated.

She sighed angrily and walked off to her room. The social workers stared at Olivia, with respect. If they'd tried something like that, the girl would've just laughed at them. Or worse…

Hannah appeared again, dragging her bag over the floor behind her.

'Liv…' Hannah tried again.

'Don't say another word.' Olivia held up a hand, 'We'll talk about this later.'

Hannah sighed and looked to the floor and was scared to meet Olivia's eyes again.

'Go wait in the car.' She gave the girl the keys and Hannah obeyed at once.

'She'll run away again.' The woman, who'd let them in, said with certainty.

'No she won't.' Olivia was even more certain.

'We'll be forced to write a report on all this,' Daniel said, 'and send it to ACS.'

'I understand.'

'We really don't want her back here again.'

Bothe detectives nodded, 'We'll be in touch.'

Outside Hannah sat on the hood of the car. A lot of kids were standing around her. They were all laughing and talking.

'Hannah! I told you to wait IN the car.' Olivia barked. She jumped off the hood and opened the car door, with a sigh.

One of the big boys blocked the detectives' way. 'Leave her alone.' He was sixteen, tall and obviously found himself to be very intimidating.

'You mind getting out of my face, boy.' Elliot walked up closer to him. The boy considered and decided wisely that detective Stabler was not the one to fight.

'Fuck off!' A girl took his place, 'You're not taking her.' Obviously, she didn't share her boyfriend's ideas.

Olivia took out her badge. 'Sweetheart, you don't wanna do this.'

'You think your little badge scare me?'

Hannah could see this was going wrong. They'd arrest Stella for obstruction and assault, because she would hit them if this continued any longer. Hannah didn't want to see that happen, or wanted Olivia getting punched, so she jumped in.

'Stella, leave it.' She said, 'They're cool.'

They're cops!'

'That's Olivia.' Hannah said and apparently that explained a lot, because all the kids made way for them to pass now.

'Thank you.' Elliot smiled at Stella in fake politeness and she returned the gesture.

'Where are we going?' Hannah asked them softly, in the car. They'd been silent for a long time now.

'Yeah, where are we going?' Elliot asked Olivia. He had started to feel sort of bad for Hannah. She seemed scared to death of what would happen next. He knew that the only opinion Hannah really cared about was the one Olivia had of her.

'My place.' Olivia decided. 'Hannah and I need to talk.'

Hannah slid down a little more in her seat at the prospect. Elliot looked at Olivia for a second and it was his turn to feel relieved: she was still trying to hide a smile.

The nerves got the best of Hannah after a while. 'Can't you just punish me? Or send me away or whatever. Just tell me, are you gonna send me away?'

'No, I'm not going to send you away.' Olivia said.

'Okay. Great. Awesome. Now punish me, then that's done!' Hannah didn't eant to talk about it. She got pissed and she got revenge; it was simple. It wasn't her fault if they couldn't understand that.

Both detectives were quiet and they could feel Hannah getting frustrated in the back seat.

'Hello! Still here!'

'O, we know you're there.' Elliot said, 'you leave quite a trail wherever you go, usually.'

Hannah sighed. 'O, I get it. This is one of your police techniques to get me to confess. By letting me know you know what I've done and then trying to get me all scared of what's going to happen next. Well, you fail.'

'We fail?' Olivia asked, amused.

'Yeah!' Hannah shouted. 'Because I don't give a shit: I DID IT. Okay? I made all the kids do that and I thought it all up. Happy now?'

'We fail.' Elliot repeated with a sarcastic look on his face. 'How did you even get the teenagers to listen to you?'

'I stole all the candy in the house and handed it out. They sorta liked me after that.'

Elliot was impressed.

'We already knew it was you.' Olivia said.

'Well aren't you the amazing detective…' Hannah grumbled.

Olivia turned around in her seat. 'You know, you said the same thing to me when I first caught you shoplifting.'

'I guess that means your skills haven't improved much.' She still had a dark look on her face.

Olivia ignored her comment. 'You remember what I said to you then?'

'Nope.' Hannah lied.

'Yeah, you do.' Olivia smiled and leaned in closer, 'I said: pipe down with the attitude, sweetheart.' Olivia pronounced the words carefully and Hannah tried to hide her smile. Then Olivia quickly snatched Hannah's cap off her head and put it on.

'Hey!' Hannah jumped forward in an attempt to get it back.

'Girls!' Elliot called out, 'I'm trying to drive here.'

Hannah leaned in between both their seats now, looking a lot more relaxed. 'So, you're not mad.'

Olivia took in a deep breath and Elliot said, 'Well, I'm glad you're not one of my kids.'

'Dickie would maybe do something like this.' Hannah considered.

'Don't talk to my son about this!' Elliot looked at her directly. 'Don't teach him any of this, or I will personally kill you, slowly and painfully.' Olivia grinned.

Hannah looked at Olivia. 'You better listen,' she said, 'I wouldn't be able to stop him.'

'Great, your partner makes death threats and you stand and watch as he kills me.'

'I wanted to kill you just now.' Olivia said.

'I said they'd be sorry…' She said, defensively.

'They are.' Elliot and Olivia repeated in unison.

'I was very unhappy and insecure in there.' Hannah nodded her head, with a professional look on her face.

'Really?' Olivia said, sarcastically.

'Yeah! They made me feel trapped, so I really had no control over my actions in there.'

'She's pleading insanity…' Elliot shook her head.

'So it would be unfair to punish you? Is that what you mean?' Olivia went along with it and Hannah nodded quickly.

'Maybe…' Olivia said.

'I'm not really an expert on these things, I mean I'm no ADA.' Elliot acted.

'Me neither…' Olivia said, 'Maybe we should ask someone who does know.'

'You mean Alex?' He asked her. They both pretended Hannah wasn't even there.

'Hmm, I don't think she's ever had a kid pleading insanity after something like this. We need someone with more experience.'

'Years of experience.' Elliot agreed.

'Hey, how about the captain!' Olivia feigned an eureka-moment.

'Yeah!' Elliot nodded, 'he knows how to deal with these situations.'

'What?' Hannah squeaked, in horror.

They both turned to face her. 'The captain knows what to do and you say it wasn't your fault, right?'

'You cannot tell Cragen!' Hannah practically yelled, 'He'll send me to juvi! He's the Captain of a police squad!'

'O, so now you start to get respect for authority.' Elliot joked.

'Actually,' Olivia decided, 'you are going to tell Cragen.'

What?' Hannah squeaked, even higher in pitch than the last one.

Elliot nodded approvingly at Olivia's parenting skills.

'You need to consider,' Olivia started, 'was it worth it? Was your one night of chaos worth the trouble you're in now?' Of course Olivia had hoped she'd say no.

But Hannah said at once, 'Hell, yeah!'

Elliot laughed and Olivia grabbed Hannah and lifted her over the seat onto her laugh, growling playfully. 'You're nothing but trouble, aren't you.'

'But you still love me.'

'I do love you, but,' Olivia playfully pulled her head down, 'don't think you're just getting away with this!' she waved a finger in front of her face.

'I know… Cragen, ACS…'

'And me!' Olivia added.

'And you…' Hannah sighed.

'But I can understand why you did it.' Olivia admitted and she saw Elliot nodding, behind the wheel, 'Those social workers and ACS really are annoying.'

Back at the precinct, Cragen had already talked to one of the social workers from the home, so he already knew what had happened, but he didn't want Hannah to know that yet. When she came walking in, Olivia pushed her forward and told her to explain to him what had happened.

Hannah looked back at Olivia, with pleading eyes. Go on!' Olivia just said, 'You got in trouble, now face the consequences.'

Munch looked up; he didn't want to miss this. Cragen was actually impressed Olivia strict ways with Hannah. He said to her, 'You got in trouble?' with his most intimidating voice.

'I got a little into trouble…' Hannah held up her hand and gestured with her fingers a millimeter apart how little the trouble was she'd gotten in. Fin smirked; this was gonna to be good.

'Hannah, I don't have time for bullshit. Now, the least you can do is have the respect to tell me exactly what happened.' Hannah nodded obediently. 'Start talking.'

Hannah told them the entire story and soon half the building was standing around listening, in spite of Cragen's attempts to keep them away. Everyone just listened breathlessly at Hannah's evil plans. When she was done, she looked up at the captain.

'I only have one question,' He said, 'do you plan these schemes, or just improvise along the way?'

'Both.' Hannah said, 'Why?'

'Those people are most dangerous.' Munch said to her.

'Really?' Hannah looked proud.

'What do you think will happen to you now?' Cragen asked her.

'I don't know…' she sounded insecure. 'Are you going to send me to Juvi?'

Cragen smiled, 'I'll just let Olivia deal with you.' He just got strict one last time, 'But if you ever, ever try something like that on me or anyone in my squad, I will personally drag you into the box and chain you to the wall and leave you there. You understand?'

Hannah nodded feverishly, with big eyes.

'Good. Now go, ACS wants you and your guardian.'

* * *

**Review, please? **


	39. Finally

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 39: Finally

'Why do they always bleep me up like some servant under speed dial? I have to go there all the time…' Hannah asked grumpily, when they sat in a cab again.

'ACS wants to talk to me, too.' Olivia said.

'Well, why do you let them bleep you up like some servants under speed dial?'

'Nobody bleeps me up, sweetheart.' Olivia raised her eyebrows and Hannah grinned: she loved I when Olivia acted like a badass.

'Behave in there.' Olivia said once again, when the taxi stopped in front of the building.

Hannah nodded, 'I never had to deal with this kind of shit when I was on the streets…'

'Neither did I.' Olivia looked at her. 'It'll be fine, I promise.'

'We can still run.' Hannah said, 'I disappear on the streets and you go back to work, and everything's over. It'll be like last year never happened.'

'Nope.' Olivia said decisively, as she crouched down next to Hannah. 'You're mine now, and I'm not letting you go.' She winked.

Hannah smiled, as they walked in and she held Olivia's hand, but she said, 'Maybe I shouldn't have caused all that trouble in the home… I guess they're pretty mad.'

'Ya think?' Olivia joked. 'Just behave. Please.'

Inside, Olivia politely greeted Mrs. Wilcox, who looked at Hannah a little sourly. Still, the little girl tried her best at an angelic smile, but Olivia wasn't sure if it had the desired effect.

'Hey, Hannah.' Dr. Huang was summoned too, apparently. Hannah was glad to see him, but got a bit nervous at the thought that he knew about her stunt, as well.

'Hi.' She said, looking up through her eyelashes.

'Don't be nervous.' He told her, 'They just want to see how you're doing.'

Yeah, right.

There was nothing Hannah had come to hate more, than that room. The room with all the social workers staring at her and judging her, ready to change her life in a second. The room with the long table with lots of chairs; some filled with annoying social workers; most were empty, but there was always more room for more annoying social workers to join. And the smell, the place smelled like a church and dentist room combination, which made Hannah think of an exorcism.

'Hannah!' Olivia waved a hand in front of her face. 'Snap out of it.'

Hannah stood frozen in the doorway and said, 'Yeah, yes. I'm sorry.' And she walked in. Then she leaned over to Olivia and whispered, 'Do they ever do exorcisms in here?'

'What?' Olivia hissed.

'You know, I saw it in a movie: candles, blood, singing, driving the devil away…'

'No!' Olivia cut her off, scared the social workers might hear her, 'No, they don't.'

'O, okay.' Hannah sat down and smiled at Olivia, who still had a shocked look on her face.

'Please don't mention that again.' Olivia hissed again, quickly.

'I think you know why we're here…' The social worker started. The lecture had started and Hannah felt like it was going on for hours.

A few hours later. 'Of course, there is also the issue of your guardian.'

Hannah paid attention again at once. 'I have one. Olivia.'

'But you can't even behave one night at a home.' The social worker said.

'That's got nothing to do with Olivia.'

'We need to be able to keep an eye on you.'

'Why? Olivia does!' Hannah called out.

The social workers all sighed dramatically; it sounded like a bad play.

They turned towards Dr. Huang, 'What do you think, as her therapist? Shouldn't she at least be able to develop some social skills with us, before we place her somewhere?'

'No, he doesn't think so!' Hannah answered for him.

'I don't?' Dr. Huang asked her, amused.

'No, you think I need therapy and continuity with people I trust, like all abused children.' Hannah explained and added while looking at the doctor, 'I do listen sometimes, you know.'

'And I'm sure you agree with what I'm thinking, which you just explained perfectly.'

'I do.' Hannah smiled contently.

The social workers looked annoyed, but Dr. Huang looked at her, impressed, like he was looking at a genius. 'She's right. That would be my advice.'

'Told you.'

Olivia coughed to hide a smile.

'Hannah, you should wait outside. We need to talk alone.' One of the social workers ordered her.

Hannah just looked at Olivia for confirmation. She wasn't going anywhere unless Olivia told her to go.

Olivia didn't say anything at first, not wanting to disrespect the woman's authority. But seeing the girl didn't plan on answering to her, Olivia said, 'Go, Hannah. Go sit on that bench outside.' Hannah got up at once. 'Don't move, don't cause trouble and just wait for me.' Olivia added, sternly.

Swinging her legs, Hannah hummed a song to herself. It took all of her willpower not to get up from that bench and go explore the place. She loved to do that; explore large buildings, without anyone noticing. But Olivia had told her to stay put, so she focused on the clock. She tried to read the lips of the people in the room…

'Do you still want to be Hannah's legal guardian?' Mrs. Wilcox asked Olivia.

'I want to adopt her.' Olivia sounded cold. She felt like she was being interrogated and she didn't like it.

Dr. Huang sent her a look, trying to calm her down.

'Well, we've had a meeting about this, this morning.' Mrs. Wilcox said, 'with all Hannah's social workers, the people at the home and Dr. Huang. And we've come to an conclusion.'

Great, Olivia thought. She was getting enough of this circus. Swinging her legs a little, in anticipation, she stared at the clock.

'We think it would be best for you to stay Hannah's guardian.'

'What?' Olivia said, before she could contain herself. This was not what she'd been expecting.

'We want to make you like Hannah's foster parent. You'll still be her legal guardian, but we won't be looking for a new foster family for her.'

'But why would you allow this all of a sudden?' Olivia was still suspicious.

'Look at her.' Mrs. Wilcox pointed to Hannah, who was still sitting on the bench. 'She's still sitting there!'

'Yeah…' Olivia said. 'I told her to stay put.'

'Exactly! She never listens to anyone. You tell her stay there, she stays there. You tell her to behave, she does. You even controlled her after that chaos she caused in the home.' The woman said. 'You're the only one who can handle her basically. It might be safest for all of us to let her stay with you.' She emphasized that last part.

'Safest for Hannah, too.' Dr. Huang said.

Olivia was still a little in shock, 'Uhm... thank you.'

'We'll consider starting adoption procedures, as well. That is, if you want to, Miss Benson.'

'Yes! Yes, I do.' Olivia bit her tongue not to correct her on the Miss Benson thing. 'So what happens next?'

'Paperwork.' Dr. Huang smiled at her.

When Olivia walked out of the room, she put on her best bad news-face.

'Not good?' Hannah asked her at once. 'Well. Tell them if they put me in another home, I'll…'

'Hey, you promised to never pull another stunt like that again!' Olivia called out.

'Do you have a better plan?' Hannah was angry, 'They keep screwing us around!'

'Shhhhh.' Olivia said, 'I was only kidding!'

'What?' Hannah was still mad, but confused now.

Olivia smiled now and nodded, 'They let me be your foster mom.'

'Really!' Hannah's eyes grew wide.

'Really.' Olivia nodded.

'You're lying.' Hannah said. 'You're serious?'

'Yeah!'

Hannah jumped up on the bench, all excited at once. She turned to the room, where the social workers still were and yelled, 'IN YOUR FACE, BI-'

Olivia cut her off there by grabbing her and covering her mouth. 'Hannah! They're the ones who agreed to it!'

'They hate me!' Hannah hissed.

'Okey, maybe they agreed to it, because they really got sick of you, but still they agreed!'

'I'll shut up.' Hannah wriggled out of Olivia's grasp.

Olivia let Hannah do her little victory dance though, because it was just too cute.

'Let's get out of here, before they change their minds.' The detective said.

'So what do we do now?' Hannah asked.

'I need to come back here and sign a thousand forms.'

'No, what do WE do?'

'We party.' Olivia smiled down on her.

'Yay.' Hannah marched out of the building, confidently.

'O, wait.' She said, turning back, 'I have to go thank Huang. He probably told them to let you keep me.' Olivia hadn't even thought of that and waited outside for her.

In the meantime, Olivia texted Elliot about the good news. It was like a habit; she always let him know what was going on and he did the same thing.

'So, basically, my Operation Mayhem was a success on all levels?' Hannah concluded, when she came back out.

'Don't even go there.'

* * *

**Please review :)**


	40. Happy birthday to me

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 40: Happy birthday to me

August the second.

Olivia looked at her alarm clock; it was almost 5 AM, August 2. And Olivia hated that day. Not because there was something wrong with the second day of August, but the day after that was August the third: Olivia Benson's birthday.

Her birthday was something Olivia did not feel like celebrating, ever. Her mother sure as hell hadn't. Her birthday meant remembering her birth and where she came from; not a pleasant memory. Of course, Olivia knew her mother had always loved her, but it was the one day of the year that made for one gigantic flashback of her mother's rape. Not even to mention the amounts of alcohol that was usually consumed on August the third…

Slowly, Olivia drifted off into another flashback filled dream.

_Olivia had been eleven for a few hours now._

_She'd woken up early, hoping her mother would be sober still. She was hoping for the same thing every year; for her mother to congratulate her. But it never happened. If there was one thing little Olivia knew, it was that she wasn't wanted and her mother sure as hell didn't believe in celebrating her existence. _

_She took up a pencil and drew a birthday cake on a piece of paper. Then she blew the crayon candles out._

_'Happy birthday to me.'_

'Olivia! Wake up!' Hannah was standing next to her bed. Her hair was sticking up in all directions. There were a lot of things Olivia had managed to teach her these last couple of months, but combing her hair wasn't one of them; Hannah just couldn't see the point.

Hannah looked at Olivia with a frown. 'You had a bad dream?' She always seemed to notice.

'It's okay, sweetie.' Olivia said, rubbing her eyes, while getting up. 'What is it?'

'I have a question.' She said in a serous tone.

'Shoot.' Olivia yawned.

'Why do you keep a pencil in your bathroom?' Hannah held up Olivia's eyeliner with a confused look on her face.

'It's makeup.'

'It's a pencil.'

'You put it on your eyes!' Olivia laughed, 'Look.' She showed the girl how to put it on.

'O my God!' Hannah called out. 'Be careful, you're gonna poke your eye out!'

'I won't. I do this every morning.' Olivia felt better already, talking to her little girl.

'Every morning? Why?'

'It looks good. Why do you think I spend so much time in the bathroom?' Olivia asked.

'Uhh… I really don't wanna know.' Hannah said.

'Very funny.' Olivia laughed, 'Come on, I'll show you how to put it on.' She brought the pencil up to Hannah's eyes.

'Do not stick that thing in my eye.' Hannah said, through clenched teeth, as Olivia tried to apply the makeup to her face. But when she was ready, Hannah asked at once, 'Do I look pretty now?'

'You looked pretty already.' Olivia said.

Hannah ran to the mirror and immediately started rubbing her face, furiously.

Olivia got up, put on her clothes and walked into the kitchen.

'You want some cereal?' She called out to Hannah. Just like when Olivia was a little kid, Hannah only ate her Captain Crunch cereal for breakfast. A true Benson, that kid.

'How about ice-cream?' Hannah asked, when she walked into the kitchen, too. Well, she did try that every morning.

Olivia was a little distracted all day. She usually got like that after a nightmare or flashback. Elliot figured out soon enough why she was like this; after all, he had known her for years now. He had just one question for her though.

'Did you tell Hannah?' Elliot asked Olivia, when they were walking to the elevator.

'Tell her what?'

'That your birthday's tomorrow.' Elliot stated the obvious in a low voice.

'No, not yet.' Olivia sighed.

'Does he know anything about your past?'

'No.' Clearly, Olivia didn't want to talk about this.

Elliot stopped her. 'Liv, that girl has the most sensitive radar when it comes to your moods and feeling; she'll know at once something's up, tomorrow.'

'I know.' Olivia rubbed her forehead. 'I'll talk to her later.'

Elliot was right of course, because a little while later Hannah came walking up to his desk, took his hand and led him into the hallway.

'What's up with Liv?' Hannah demanded, with her hands at her hips.

'Nothing.' Elliot tried.

'Don't lie.'

'Are you a detective now?' His face lit up in a crooked smile.

'Just answer the question!' Hannah got frustrated now. 'I'm worried.'

Elliot looked at the obviously very concerned nine year old. He couldn't lie to her. 'It's Olivia's birthday tomorrow.'

'Really?' Hannah was very excited at first, 'Wait, that's not good?'

'She has some personal issues with that day.' Elliot said, after thinking it over for a while.

Hannah nodded, with a wise look on her face.

'I gotta go.' And within two seconds, the girl had disappeared. Even more disturbing, about an hour later she turned up again with a very satisfied look on her face.

Olivia was almost done at work. It'd been hard concentrating all day and she was actually glad it was over. It had been nothing but paper work anyways. The skipping girl who jumped up her desk brought a smile to her face. Absentmindedly, she playing with Hannah's hair, as she typed up the last of her report.

Olivia's phone rang and Hannah picked it up, before Olivia could.

'Benson.' Hannah said, trying to mimic OLivia's voice.

Olivia mouthed Hannah's name in a mockingly strict manner.

'No!' Hannah was obviously annoyed with the person on the other side of the line, 'My name's Benson too, you know!'

'Hannah!' Olivia took the phone from her. 'I'm sorry about that…'

As Olivia talked, Hannah threw her hands up in the air. 'What? My name is Benson now!' She said to no one in particular. It was true; for the first time Hannah was getting a last name. They were making her passport and papers and they'd be ready in a few weeks. The last couple of months she had just been Hannah Doe and before that she'd been nothing more than a nameless streetrat. Hannah Benson sounded awesome to her and she wouldn't let an opportunity go by without mentioning it.

'Don't touch my phone!' Olivia said, after she'd hung up.

'You didn't stop me at first.'

'People call me on serious business. Don't touch my phone unless I tell you to.' Olivia said again.

Clearly unimpressed, Hannah ignored her again. 'Who was that anyways? He sounded weird and he told me to leave your phone.'

'Are you even listening to me…' Olivia started, 'He was FBI!'

'I talked to the FBI?' Hannah's eyes grew big.

'You shouted to FBI.'

'Cool!'

The evening went by smoothly and the same as usual. It was once Hannah was off to bed, the clock started crawling towards midnight. Olivia really didn't want to do this, with Hannah in the other room, but she did what she did every year. She grabbed a bottle at half part eleven; the only way she could deal with her birthday was in an alcohol-induced haze.

More than halfway through a bottle of Chardonnay, Hannah popped up next to her. She took the bottle from Olivia and put it to her mouth. Olivia was a little unsteady on her feet, but lucid enough to stop her by yelling at Hannah and trying to take the bottle back.

'You're not getting it, unless you tell me why you're drinking.' Hannah said. She sounded so determined.

'I'm just having a glass of wine.' Olivia said, trying to sound calm and collected, 'Because I'm an adult, I can. You can not!'

'You're trying to get drunk on purpose.' Hannah's brown eyes pierced hers. 'What's wrong?'

'How can she see I'm trying to get wasted…' The alcohol made Olivia speak her thoughts out loud.

'I've seen it a thousand times before.' Hannah replied in a low voice.

Right then, something in Olivia snapped. The wine had made her more emotional and tears started falling from her eyes at once. But it wasn't the wine that had caused it, it was the way Hannah had said she'd seen alcoholics and the way they act, a thousand times before. Just like Olivia had.

At ten minutes before midnight, Olivia started telling Hannah the whole story. About her mother's rape and her birth. About her mother's love and hate, all wrapped in one woman. About the alcohol, the abuse and the confusion, but most of all, the loneliness. About her mother's death and wanting a family. Even about high school, the police academy and SVU. About all of her birthdays, from the day she was born. And at ten minutes past midnight, Olivia felt lighter than she'd felt in a long time.

It made sense to Hannah now, but she couldn't sleep. Olivia was asleep now, because she was tired or because of all the alcohol maybe, and Hannah watched her. She sat on the bed with her legs crossed, guarding Olivia.

Olivia said everything felt different now; now that she'd told her and now that she had Hannah. Tomorrow would be a different birthday from all the others, Hannah planned on making sure of that.

Hannah shook her head quickly to drive the fatigue away. Four more hours left until morning, but she couldn't sleep. She had to stay up and protect Olivia.

* * *

**To all my readers: I love you and please keep reviewing :)**


	41. No numbers

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own this idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 41: No numbers

When Olivia woke up, she had a faint headache from her hangover, so she winced at the sound of pots and pans being banged together. She rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. Last nights' makeup was still on her sheets, she noticed.

'Hannah!' Olivia called out. Bits of the night before started to come back. Her head remembered the wine; that was for sure.

Hannah replied with something not understandable and chaotic. There was more banging of pots, another loud crash and a curse from Hannah. Then the girl came sliding into the bedroom on her socks.

'Don't come in yet!' Hannah said. Then she looked at Olivia, 'You look terrible.' she laughed. 'You should take a shower or something…'

Olivia was about to protest, but just smiled instead. Hannah was covered in flower and she had something that looked like chocolate on her face. Her once black curls were now white and sticking up in all directions, as usual. She was still wearing her pajamas and was waving a big spoon around as she spoke.

'Go!' Hannah pointed to the bathroom with her spoon.

'Please don't destroy my kitchen.' Olivia grumbled, but with humor in her voice.

As Olivia let the hot water flow over her face, she though about her birthday again. The day had a better start already, after the talk she had with Hannah last night. She was scared to death though of what Hannah had planned.

A few moments later, Hannah started banging on her bathroom door. Wrapped in nothing but two towels, Olivia came out and Hannah stood there waiting for her. She was beaming and obviously very excited, as she took Olivia by the hand and led her into the kitchen.

The kitchen looked like a battlefield. There was almost as much flower on the floor, as there had been in the kitchen of the home, after Operation Mayhem. It looked like Hannah had used every single pan, bowl and kitchen utensil there was, and now they lay scattered everywhere.

But none of that really mattered to Olivia, when she saw the stack of delicious looking, but somewhat odd shaped, pancakes. They were even dripping with syrup.

'This looks great.' Olivia hugged Hannah. She sat down in front of the plate.

Hannah added another ten bowls to Olivia's breakfast, filled with things she maybe wanted to eat: strawberries, banana slices, yoghurt, chocolate puffs, muesli, kiwi slices, melted chocolate for her pancakes, jam and different berries. Also, there was a bowl filled with Skittles. Olivia looked at all with big eyes.

'Too much?' Hannah stuttered, uncertain.

'No! No, this is the perfect breakfast.' Olivia said, with her eyes lingering on the Skittles.

'Skittles make me happy…' Hannah mumbled, as an explanation.

Olivia laughed out loud and popped a Skittle into her mouth.

'Wait, there's more!' Hannah ran off into her bedroom.

Olivia drew up her eyebrows in anticipation. The pancakes were really good actually, so she could live with the spatters of pancake mix on her walls. They were really really good.

Hannah came back, obviously hiding something behind her back.

'What do you have there?' Olivia played the game with her. Then Hannah gave her the present. It was a huge cup of coffee that she had painted herself.

'O my God!' Olivia said, when she opened it up. 'This cup is gorgeous and looks like it could hold a liter of coffee!' She was genuinely surprised and excited.

'It does!' Hannah smiled, 'I tried.'

She had painted a knight in shining armor on the mug and wrote 'Happy Birthday' next to it.

'You drink a lot of coffee, because you never sleep.' Hannah explained.

'I do.' Olivia was still turning the cup around in her hand, looking at the picture. 'By the way, how did you sleep?'

'Fine.' she ran her hands through her curls, which caused another snowstorm of flower.

'Really?' Olivia looked up, sarcastically.

'I didn't really sleep.' she confessed. 'But I'm not tired and that doesn't really matter, because it's your birthday!' She rattled quickly.

'It's the best birthday ever.' Olivia picked Hannah up and sat her on the counter next to her. 'But please, eat with me from this perfect looking birthday breakfast composition, because it's all so good and so much, I'll be in serious danger of exploding if I eat this all by myself.'

'You have all morning to eat it.'

'I have to go to work.'

'No, you don't.' Hannah smiled innocently.

Olivia stopped chewing at once. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing! Cragen agreed. You get the day off because it's your birthday.'

'No, he wouldn't… I worked last year and all the years before.' Olivia said, slowly.

Hannah sighed, 'Be grateful.'

'What did you do?' Olivia tried really hard not to burst out laughing and to sound strict.

'I pretended to be you and called in sick.'

'You don't sound like me!' Olivia said.

Hannah took up the phone, pretended to dial and said in a low voice, 'Benson. I'm really sorry, Captain, but I have a terrible flu and can't possibly come to work today.'

Olivia eyes grew, 'You do sound like me!'

'I know.' Hannah quipped, in her own voice again. 'You wanna eat your birthday breakfast with a movie? I got your favorite. Second present.'

'You know my favorite movie, too?' Olivia asked.

'Elliot told me. It's kinda funny that it's about women murdering their men, and you like it so much.'

Both girls finished their improvised breakfast in front of the TV, while watching 'Chicago.' Hannah noticed Olivia was mouthing the song lyrics more than once, but she tried to hide it whenever she looked at her.

After the movie, Olivia already thought this was her best birthday. She felt relaxed and warm, because it was just so sweet of Hannah to try and make this a great day for her.

'Thank you.' Olivia said, with a loving smile.

'O, I'm not done.'

'There's more?'

'Yeah!' Hannah grinned, 'If you want to…'

'Of course!'

'I just want you to be chill, you know. Not think about bad stuff.' Hannah tried, gently, 'but if you wanna talk about it, that's okay too.'

'Come here.' Olivia held out her arms and hugged Hannah closer. 'Everything's better already, because you're my girl now.'

'You didn't buy me or anything.' Hannah said, but the sound was a bit muffled in Olivia's embrace.

'Nope. Got you for free!' Olivia joked. 'Just like in a yard sale.'

'Great! So I'm a cheap reject!'

'No you're not.' Olivia hugged her even closer, as Hannah playfully tried to squirm out of the embrace. 'You were just too special and no one was good enough for you but me.'

Hannah smiled. She liked that idea, but of course, that's not what she cockily said. 'If that's what you want to believe…'

'O, I almost forgot.' Hannah said a little while later. 'I drew you a picture as well.'

'Ah!' Olivia was excited already, 'You're my favorite artist, you know.'

'That's bullshit.' Hannah laughed, as she handed Olivia a large rolled up piece of paper.

'O, wauw, this is amazing!' And she meant it. Olivia was really blown back by the skill shown in this drawing. It was a pastel crayon drawing of New York City, in bright colors. It looked like their view from the roof of the 16th precinct building. Olivia remembered Hannah going up there a lot, lately.

'Thank you.' she said again, 'I'm gonna frame it and put it up. Right there.' Olivia pointed to the empty wall above her couch.

Later that day, when they were playing some game, Olivia's phone rang. Hannah picked it up. Olivia just rolled her eyes at Hannah's professional 'Benson'.

'O, Hey, Elliot.'

Olivia's head shot up. 'Give me that.' She hissed, as she made a grab for the phone.

'No, Liv's taking a shower right now.' Hannah dodged Olivia's hands with ease.

'HANNAH!' Olivia hissed a little louder.

'I can go check if she's ready.' Hannah offered, looking at Olivia. 'What do you want to talk to her about?'

Olivia did a complicated dance, to indicate she wanted the phone. Hannah just continued talking as if nothing was going on.

'You remembered! Yeah, I got her presents and stuff…'

Olivia sighed again. She grabbed Hannah's wrist, successfully this time, and tried to take the phone again. A struggle ensued, but Hannah still managed to dart away. With the phone. 'No, no, that was nothing…'

Olivia gave up. 'Yeah, that sounds great! She'll meet you at nine.' But that was too much. She sprinted towards Hannah and practically tackled Hannah to the ground.

'Okay, bye!' Hannah said quickly, before she hit the ground. 'Too late.' She smirked at Olivia.

'You…' Olivia said, threateningly.

'Come on!' Hannah quickly said, as she got up and away from Olivia as fast as she could. 'We gotta go.'

'Go where?' Olivia hid her phone in the pocket of her jacket.

'Birthday surprise.' Hannah smiled, innocently.

As the day already started to end, Hannah led Olivia through town. At first, Olivia still knew where they were. She'd lived in New York all her live and worked in the city. But after the tenth alley shortcut route, she got confused.

'You haven't got your fancy heels on, right?' Hannah spun around all of a sudden, looking at Olivia's footwear. 'No, you haven't.' She answered for her.

'These are okay…' Olivia was a little offended.

Hannah climbed up a ladder and hardly waited for Olivia to follow her. They walked over a few rooftops, until they came to a little ledge. Hannah jumped down with ease and without fear. Olivia was a little more cautious though and made sure not to look down.

'What are we waiting for?' Olivia whispered, as she sat down next to Hannah. They legs were swinging in the wind, almost five stories high.

'Wait 'till it starts.' They looked down on another alleyway, where a bunch of people had gathered. They looked foreign to Olivia, all dark hair and eyes. The people seemed happy and brought a lot of food, as if they were setting up a party.

'Is it some celebration?' she asked Hannah.

'Yeah.' Hannah explained. 'In Serbia the Guca Festival is today. They celebrate something like that here too, to remember home.'

Olivia nodded and looked at the women in long wavy skirts and the men in their best colorful costumes. They looked beautiful and they had an amazing view from up there.

Then a man started to play the trumpet from one of the balconies overlooking the alleyway. But his playing was nothing like the trumpet playing you ever heard before; it was complicated and foreign and wild. It caused an adrenaline rush just by listening to it. To the first song, everyone listened almost intoxicated. To the second song, they danced. They danced in a careless way, like this night was all there was. Olivia had never seen anything like it.

'This is perfect.' Olivia said.

'It's kinda cool, right?' Hannah smiled. 'I wanted to show you.'

'How do you know of things like this?'

'Had a lot of free time once.'

'Thank you for making this birthday the greatest.' Olivia looked at her.

'You say thank you a lot…'

Olivia feigned annoyance. 'Just say 'You're welcome.' '

Hannah mimicked her look, 'You're welcome.'

'Let's go.' Hannah got up. 'You're meeting Elliot at nine at that police bar.'

'I am?'

'Yep. I'll go home and watch 'Chicago' again. That movie was really cool…'

'Wow, do I get a say in this?' Olivia asked, as they climbed down again.

'Don't you wanna see Elliot?'

'I do…'

'Great. So, let's go. He'll feel dumped otherwise.'

'Wait.' Olivia stopped her. 'I'll go if you promise you'll sleep. You're still tired from last night, I can see it.'

'Fine.' Hannah grumbled. 'O, I almost forgot. You still get your real present.'

Hannah produced a small box from her pocket.

'Just before you ask; I didn't steal anything, I bought it. And the money I saved up.'

'I know you're not stealing anymore.' Olivia reassured her, as she took the velvet box from Hannah.

Olivia opened it and found a necklace inside. It was a little golden chain with a golden plate as a pendant. She took the little plate between het thumb and forefinger. In the gold, the word 'fearlessness' was engraved into it.

'I just wanted to give you something special, because you're like… my hero.' Hannah said, a little uncertain.

Olivia didn't know what to say. She knelt down next to Hannah and put the necklace on.

'You like it?'

Olivia was a little scared she would get all emotional and freak Hannah out, sos eh didn't answer straight away. 'Yeah, baby. I like it. I've never gotten a gift that means so much.'

She hugged Hannah again and felt at the cool plate, resting against her neck. It felt reassuring already.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait!**


	42. Change

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 42: Change

Elliot met Olivia at a bar, where all the police officers in this part of Manhattan went to. He just wanted to buy her a birthday drink and was amused by Hannah arranging it on the phone. Of course, he had heard Olivia in the background protesting, which only made it funnier.

Olivia liked letting her hair down for the day. With Hannah's plans and now with Elliot. This was nothing like their normal drink after work, where they both tried to forget about some horrible case. This was more casual and she liked it. But a few drinks later, she wanted to get back to Hannah. Olivia didn't want her to feel left alone and lonely.

'She'll be asleep by now.' Elliot reassured her. Olivia had told him about the breakfast she'd made, the serbian festival and that she hadn't slept in a while because of it. Mostly, he was glad she'd finally told him about her past; he was sure it would help them both.

When they stepped into her apartment, because of course Elliot had brought Olivia home, Hannah was curled up in the middle of Olivia's bed, with all the blankets wrapped around her.

Elliot didn't really know why, but he never really wanted to leave Olivia, to go home. It was like he and Olivia connected easily and didn't need words to understand each other. He could be with her and feel relaxed, without doing anything in particular.

'Is this her file?' Elliot picked up a stack of papers.

Olivia was putting away her things. 'Yeah. The one they started when we just found her. When she was still Hannah Doe.'

'Another Benson. Just what the world needs.' Elliot joked.

He picked up the papers and went through them. There was a photo in it, taken of Hannah when she first got arrested. He smiled when he looked at it. It was Hannah, just as she was back then: she had a cheeky grin on her face, even though she'd been custody then. The photo scared him as well; she was so skinny in it and she had a black eye and a split lip. Her face was filthy and had dried up blood on it. She grinned cheekily, but her eyes were empty and cautious. But, like she had even when she was asleep right now, she had her Yankees cap on, backwards. Thank God she was less skinny now, less cautious, less old.

'That seems ages ago.' Olivia said, as she joined him.

'She looks a lot better now.'

'Yeah.' Olivia looked over to her.

'She looks like you when you're asleep.' Elliot said.

Olivia looked at him, with half a smile on her face and big questioning eyes.

'I mean… you also hug the pillow like that.' He stuttered and pointed to Hannah.

'Do I.' Olivia said sarcastically, 'but the real question is: Why do you watch me when I'm sleeping, Elliot?'

'I'm not!'

'So, how do you know?' Olivia liked how uncomfortable he was obviously getting.

'I-I've seen you asleep in the cribs!' Elliot called out.

'Right.'

Elliot quickly changed the subject. 'Is she still reading that book about drugs?'

'Smooth… and that book wasn't about drugs.'

Elliot was talking about the other day, when Hannah was reading a book in the squadroom and had started laughing out loud, without being able to stop for a few minutes. All she could do was choke out a few words in between her giggles: 'doped up pheasants, falling, raining junkies….' She had them all very worried.

'She was reading 'Danny, the champion of the world.' Olivia emphasized.

'A book about dope.' Elliot said again.

'No! It's about a boy who tries to stop the shooting of pheasants with the help of his father and the village priest and… Just read the book, El.'

'C'mon, you hadn't read it either!'

'Hannah read it to me.' Olivia confessed, 'It's a great story actually.'

'She has changed you, you know.' Elliot sounded serious at once.

'I think she has.' Olivia smiled.

'And I think you've changed her a little bit as well…'

'Gee, thanks! You want a beer?' Without waiting for the answer, she threw him a can from her fridge.

'She seems more careless, she's stopped stealing and hasn't hit me in months.' Elliot explained.

'Men and their ego's…' Olivia sighed.

'Girls and their sarcasm… O wait, no, that's only you.'

'Ouch!' Olivia called out and rolled her eyes, which made Elliot laugh.

'And Hannah.' Elliot added.

Olivia spun around in an almost glamorous way, 'That's my girl!'

Elliot walked up to Olivia and held up his beer. 'Happy birthday, Liv.'

'Thank you.' She whispered.

'May all your birthday's be like this last one.' He added.

Olivia touched her necklace and looked at Elliot. 'I feel different.' She confessed, 'I feel safer. Hannah made me realize that life can change like that, you know?'

He nodded. 'You never know when it can change, for better of for worse.'

'You're my best friend, you know that, right?' Olivia said to him.

'I know.' He smiled.

'I can't lose that, like I can't lose that little girl. She taught me to speak my mind, so I need you to know what you mean to me.'

'I know, Liv. I know.' He squeezed her shoulder. 'I used to think caring too much was a bad thing,' he confessed as well, 'but it's what makes us human. And now that my marriage feels shaky sometimes, I need you and my kids more than anything. I can't lose you, I couldn't take it.'

'I'm right here.' Olivia whispered, as she looked into his eyes. 'You're a good person, Elliot. No matter what anyone says.'

'You're a good mother, no matter what you say.' Elliot emphasized.

Olivia felt her heart warming and touched his cheek for a second. This friendship meant everything to her and she couldn't bear to lose him either. The idea made her lose her breath.

Then Hannah moaned in her sleep and they both looked over to her and the moment between then passed.

'Is she okay?' Elliot was concerned.

'She's probably just having a nightmare.' Olivia went over to Hannah and stroked her hair. In her sleep, Hannah took hold of Olivia's hand and settled down.

'She still gets those a lot?'

'Less than before, but yeah…' Olivia sounded hurt. 'You're right; she is doing better, but sometimes you still see signs of her street life and it pains me. She still eats her food as fast as she can and with her arm around her plate, scared that someone might take it away.'

'It'll fade, Liv.' Elliot promised. But he hated seeing Hannah like that too. After this summer, he'd started to see Hannah as one of his own.

Olivia took off Hannah's cap and put it on the bedside table.

'I better go.' Elliot said, 'I can see Hannah doesn't plan on letting go of your arm any time soon.'

Olivia smiled, 'Thanks for tonight, El.'

'I'll see ya.' He said, on his way out.

Olivia looked at Hannah, who was still mumbling in her sleep, and whispered, 'Little girl, I don't know what's haunting you right now, which memory is torturing you, but I promise you the memories will fade.' Olivia traced a finger along her nose, like she always did, 'And even more importantly, I won't let anything happen to you ever again.' She promised. 'My sweet girl, I won't let anyone take you from me, I won't let anyone hurt or break you and I won't let anyone even touch you.' She ran her hands through Hannah's curls, 'My moon child,' And pressed a kiss on her forehead. 'I'll protect you.'

* * *

**Please review! **

**After this chapter, I'll be doing a bit of a time lapse in the story, so be prepared haha**

**Also, the image I've added, was a drawing of Hannah I did a while back, when I first came up with the idea. It's how I imaged her, when they first found and arrested her.**


	43. Normal?

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

**Jump forward: it's a year later now, so Hannah is ten, almost eleven. And Olivia probably has a different hairstyle. **

Chapter 43: Normal?

One year, about a hundred trips to the principal in school, dozens of cases at the 16th precinct and a baseball season later, Hannah was officially still Hannah Doe; adoption procedures were slow. They were summoned to ACS almost on a weekly basis, but usually just to talk to one of the social workers, to check on Hannah and Olivia.

Hannah was actually doing really well. She played baseball now and trained every week. It was almost like she'd always lived with Olivia and Olivia felt like a mom, because in fact she was now. But also because she and the little girl were just very similar. They had same weird sense of humor, they both had problems they didn't really talk about, except to each other and they liked the same things. People even said they had the same eyes, but Olivia disagreed; Hannah's eyes were dark and intense, she could look right inside you with those eyes and her eyes were a more hazel shade of brown, softer.

Hannah had changed very little. She was still mischievous and got in trouble in school, she still sang whenever she could and she read every book she could get her hands on. She was just less scared of being abandoned and less anti all adults. There still was the occasional anger fit, when she would punch the wall and bruise her knuckles, but Olivia never expected her to become a regular little girl over night. Nine years on the streets taught her a lot of anger and fear that probably would never really leave her.

At home Hannah felt safe though. She usually slept in her own bed now, but crawled in with Olivia after a nightmare. Each morning Hannah woke up with far too much energy for Olivia to understand. Sometimes Hannah made her coffee and handed it to her, saying she looked like 'the grumpy cat' again.

This morning Elliot was at their apartment as well, to pick up Olivia and talk over a case with her. They planned going straight to a suspect from there, to interrogate her. Olivia drank her orange juice and was eating something called cereal. Hannah thought it looked more like horse food.

'Hannah, quit jumping on my bed!' Olivia yelled out from the kitchen. It was quiet for a second, then the squeaking of the bed, caused by Hannah's bouncing feet, started again.

'Hannah!' Olivia stuck her head around the corner. 'You break that bed, you buy me a new one!'

'Okay!' Hannah shouted, with a big smile on her face and she tried a summersault but almost landed next to the bed.

'Please don't break your neck…' Olivia mumbled, more to herself. Hannah always tried things like that. She'd walk on their table and jump to the chair with a summersault or she'd jump of the counter in the kitchen all the way to the couch. A few trips to the ER had been the result of these stunts. That didn't really seem to stop Hannah, but she did hate it whenever they had to explain to a social worker that it wasn't Olivia who had split her lip open…

'Let me.' Elliot offered, when Hannah was still jumping up and down and singing some song. He walked over to the bed, grabbed one of Hannah's ankles and tugged it hard. With an audible 'Oofff' Hannah landed on her back at once.

'What just happened…' She said, confused. Olivia laughed at her expression.

'Don't move, or I will book you.' Elliot waved a finger threateningly. Hannah tried really hard not to giggle at his pretend seriousness and nodded.

'Breakfast.' He pointed to the kitchen and picked Hannah up by her sweater and put her on the floor. She ran of into the kitchen and ate her cereal quickly. She no longer ate food like it could be stolen any second, but she never wanted to throw food away either.

Olivia looked to the clock, 'Hurry up. Maybe today we'll both actually be on time.'

'You don't have to take me to school, I can go by myself.' Hannah said. Olivia shook her head but Hannah said, 'I know this city and its dangers better than you do.'

'Fine.' Olivia agreed, 'But you'll go straight to school; no stops along the way. And I'll come and pick you up.'

Hannah nodded and grabbed her skateboard. She'd gotten that as a present when she turned ten last year. Now she used it as transport to get almost everywhere; it drove the school crazy when she skated inside.

'Wow, wait.' Olivia stopped her and took off her cap. 'When was the last time you combed your hair?'

'Recently.'

'Go brush your teeth too!'

'You know, the lovely thing about wearing a cap is, is that it doesn't matter if you've combed your hair or not…' Hannah protested, on her way to the bathroom.

A few chaotic moments later, Hannah rushed out the door. A second later she came back in again, 'Forgot my bag.'

Olivia smiled at her and handed her her bag. 'Don't skate in the building!' she called out.

'Okay!'

'Behave in school!'

'Okay!'

'I love you!'

'Love you too!' Hannah was already running down the stairs.

'Can't believe you used to NOT be a mom.' Elliot said, 'This seems so natural.'

Olivia nodded and held up her hand, 'Wait for it; three…two…one…' she counted.

'Hey! No skateboards allowed!' The janitor shouted downstairs.

'I knew that was coming.' She grinned. Olivia didn't mind that Hannah was such a troublemaker; that was just Hannah. Of course it could be a bit of a hassle sometimes, but she wasn't a bad kid and Olivia knew that. This year she'd just started fourth grade and did really well in school. She could've started fifth grade, but that would've meant more extra lessons and Hannah had had enough of that. Her writing and reading skills were far above average though. Also, she was patient, polite when she really had to and a sweet girl; she always wanted to help others if she could. So, Olivia could live with the pranks she pulled.

'Let's go.' Elliot made his way out the door.

Olivia grabbed her coat and followed him. 'El, remind me that I have to pick up Hannah because we have to go to ACS today, to talk about her adoption.'

'Sure.' Elliot smiled, 'They're taking their time though.'

'Tell me about it…'

At four o'clock Olivia ran into the school building. She was late; school had been over for almost half an hour now. Usually this meant Olivia was feeling guilty, but Hannah didn't really care. She knew it was because of her job, because of a rape or a murder of a missing child; that was far more important than being exactly on time. Hannah was the perfect daughter of a detective. Also, she was just glad someone actually picked her up now.

The halls were empty. From a distance, Olivia could hear the wheels of Hannah's skateboard spinning. She followed the sound and saw her kid trying to do a kickflip, but falling flat on her ass. She quickly got back up again and tried again. Olivia wanted to rush over to her, to make sure she was okay, but one of the teachers beat her to it.

'Get that thing out of my school!' He yelled.

'Calm down, dude.' Hannah yelled back and she turned around, skating towards the exit.

'Dude?' The teacher exclaimed, 'DUDE?"

Hannah picked up in speed and then noticed Olivia. 'We should go.' She said and they quickly left the building.

When they talked to the social worker they went through the usual things first. How she was doing, her grades etc. She had to do a physical examination too, once a month: they'd measure and weigh her and check for any wounds or injuries. Of course there were lots of those and she had to explain them all. Hannah was still a small kid, but luckily less skinny. She actually looked younger now, than when they first found her; living rough ages you, apparently.

The only thing they were both really interested in, was the interview they had after that one, with Mrs. Wilcox, about Hannah's adoption. It annoyed Hannah to no end that the procedures took so long and mostly because they couldn't really explain why exactly it took so long. It just did.

'Mrs. Benson…' Mrs. Wilcox started,

'Detective!' Hannah sighed.

'Hannah.' Olivia looked at her. 'Just leave it.'

'A year down the road and they still don't know?' Hannah whispered to Olivia, 'What if you get promoted? Will it take them another decade?'

Mrs. Wilcox looked at Hannah with what was meant to be a strict look, 'Detective Benson, my apologies.'

'O you can!' Hannah faked a sugar sweet smile, 'Good for you!'

'Hannah!' All the adults in the room said, at the same time. Hannah just slouched in her chair a little more, getting bored with the whole situation.

A few sharp remarks like the last one later, Dr. Huang decided it was best for him and Hannah to leave the room. Outside, Hannah kicked the soda machine in frustration. 'Why does it take so fucking long?' Hannah swore less, but her street ways still came out whenever she got angry.

'It's the system.' Dr. Huang sighed, 'Bureaucracy.' Hannah rolled her eyes, not understanding what that meant.

'Are you afraid Olivia will change her mind?' He asked her.

'No!'

'Then what?'

'I'm afraid they will change their mind.' Hannah pointed to the people in the room, 'What if they're just staling and they never actually planned on letting Liv adopt me?'

'I understand it feels that way.' Dr. Huang nodded, 'But you really are getting close now. The testing period for Olivia is practically done and now there is just a lot of paperwork to be filed.'

'Is that what bureaucracy means?' Hannah asked, 'Paperwork?'

He smiled. 'Pretty much, yeah.'

'But they like Olivia, right?'

'They think she'd be a fit mother, yes.'

'They just hate me…'

'Hannah,' Dr. Huang started, 'Do you ever miss your life on the streets?'

'No.'

'Never?'

Hannah shrugged, 'Sometimes I feel trapped and want to run away. That was the only good thing about the streets; when I got scared or whatever, I just ran away. Now I can't, because I have to go to school and stuff.'

'I understand.' He said.

'But I sure as hell don't miss sleeping outside, the cold and snow, always being hungry, always alone.' She paused for a while, 'Or the men, the drugs and the beatings. Always thinking I'm gonna die...'

'So you wouldn't go back?"

'Hell no!' Hannah practically shouted, 'Besides, I wouldn't just leave Olivia.'

Dr. Huang smiled. He really really wanted Hannah to get adopted soon. Her and detective Benson just needed each other.

'Are we done?' Hannah asked at once, when Olivia came out.

'Yeah.' She smiled, 'But I have to get back to the precinct for some more work.'

'That's okay. We can eat there.' Hannah said, as she hopped on her skateboard.

'Cragen will kill you if you skate inside…'

As the detectives at the 16th precinct worked on yet another rape homicide, Hannah was upstairs watching TV. After the third murder, it became clear they were dealing with a serial killer and rapist. At least they weren't working on the clock, like with some serial killers who killed someone every three days; this one took months in between his victims. But still, they had to find him. And fast.

For tonight they'd run out of leads though. They'd interviewed the family and everyone on the block. They went over all the evidence from the previous murders and found nothing, again. All they could do now, was wait for the medical evidence from the body to come in and that wouldn't be today.

Fin was upstairs, watching TV with Hannah.

'That is just wrong.' Munch said, as he came walking up the stairs as well.

'She watches it all the time.' Olivia laughed.

'For a cop's kid to be watching crime shows, is one thing; that is just a little bit weird.' Munch started, 'But watching different detectives? That's just pure treason!'

Hannah laughed. 'It's not even in New York.'

'That's even worse!'

'It's a good show!' Hannah defended, 'They're funny.'

'Rizzoli and Isles… Sounds like the mob…' Munch thought out loud.

'Yeah, he's right. What if she trades in us for these fictional wannabe girls from Boston?' Fin joked too.

'I've never even been out of New York.' Hannah said, 'What am I gonna do in Boston? Besides, Red Sox fans? No way!'

'That's my girl.' Olivia said, 'Now, let's go.'

'I'll write a book about you all some day, okay?' Hannah promised Fin and Munch.

'That's a scary thought.' Cragen said, who had just joined them.

'Yeah!' Hannah got all excited with the idea, 'just about the Special Victims Unit…'

'You still want to change the world with your writing?' Munch asked. She had told him that once and he thought that was just brilliant.

'Yep.' Hannah was thinking really hard about her book about the detectives, 'And my book about SVU will start like this:' She put on a deep and serious voice, 'In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories….'

'Dedicated detectives… I like it…' Munch nodded. 'I think you've got yourself a hit there.'

'Really?' Hannah's eyes grew big.

'I'd read it.' Munch nodded.

'Of course you would, it's about you.' Fin said.

'So would I, now let's go!' Olivia said again, 'Don't want you sleeping in class, again!'

'I was only pretending to be asleep.' Hannah explained, as they were walking down the stairs.

'O, that makes it so much better…'

* * *

**It's been a while, but let me know if you're still with me :)**


	44. The Butcher

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 44: The Butcher

Detective Olivia Benson sat at her desk, with her hands in her hair. They were absolutely stuck with their case. Their serial killer and rapist remained a mystery, a ghost even. Of course the detectives had hoped for something useful to come out of the autopsy results, but nothing they didn't know already.

All they knew so far, that is was someone who abducted his victims, raped them for a few days and then murdered them with a meat cleaver; it wasn't pretty. They knew he liked them to be women with power, women who had important jobs and were in control. He wasn't a first timer, that was for sure, because he left no prints or evidence whatsoever. All they had found at all three victims' houses was a single red rose from an 'anonymous admirer'. But that didn't lead them anywhere either. It was like this man vanished into thin air after each murder, appearing again only for the next.

The press had a field day with this. They called him the 'Invisible Butcher'. Leave it to them to come up with some terrible name, gruesome and attracting readers at the same time. Olivia loathed these people.

For the thousandth time, Olivia went through the files they'd made up for each victim.

'We've looked through all those, Liv.' Elliot leaned on her desk.

'Maybe there's a connection between these women we're overlooking.' Olivia said, as she compared notes, 'Maybe they went to the same church, or the same gym…'

'…Or the same high school, restaurant or grocery store. There's nothing in there, Liv. We checked.'

Olivia sighed and put the photos of the three women next to each other now. 'Okay, so they're not the same age, have no connection to each other and don't have similar appearances. The only thing that connects them is the fact that they're all powerful women.'

'Which means he picks his victims at random from that upper circle of women, women in the business industry.' Elliot concluded again. He was tired too.

Olivia started tapping his arm with new found energy, 'Which means he must move around in those circles, as well, taking his time to pick someone. He usually waits a few months.'

'Or maybe he just wants to lay low for a while…' Elliot thought out loud.

'I don't think so,' Olivia said, 'He talks to these women and then picks his next victim.'

'How do we even know these are random victims?'

'Because there's no connection whatsoever.' Olivia said, 'Like you said. So, until we do have a connection, we have to assume it's someone who picks random women, who are in control. Maybe he's holding a grudge.'

'He gets off on the humiliation and overpowering them.' Elliot nodded, sensing they were getting somewhere now. 'That would mean a lot of women, who were potential victims, have seen him, but haven't realized it.'

'He blends in.'

'This is a great theory, ' Captain Cragen said to his detectives, when they told him about it, a little later, 'and I have to admit it makes sense, but what do we do with it? Like you said, he blends in, so how do you plan on finding him? These women didn't even move in the same circles or went to the same parties.'

'They were rich and powerful; they probably did go to the same types of bars or parties.' Olivia said, 'We could check a few out. I can go undercover and with some luck, he'll spot me.'

'You want to go and attend random parties for the rich and famous on the off chance you'll run in to our killer and then we can only hope you'll find him dodgy in some way?' Cragen didn't sound very hopeful.

'Parties for business people, Captain.' Olivia said, 'And yes. It's about all we've got to get this guy right now.'

'All right,' he agreed, 'Olivia, you'll go undercover. Elliot, you'll go as a police officer, but don't attract too much attention, and ask the ladies if they've spoken to anyone suspicious lately. Make it seem as though you two have never met.'

Later that day, Olivia drove Hannah over to Queens. She hadn't said a word the entire way and that was not like her at all. Olivia had asked her a few times if she was okay, and Hannah had just nodded.

When they pulled up to Elliot's house, Olivia turned in her seat to face her. 'You don't like it when I'm dropping you off somewhere.'

'No, I don't mind.' Hannah said, in a small voice, 'You have a job to do, I understand. And I like it here, with Elliot's kids.'

'Then what is it?' Olivia's eyes pleaded.

Hannah sighed, 'I really don't like it when you have to go undercover.'

'Why not? I thought you said it was like I was a secret agent, like in the movies.' Olivia asked.

'In movies it's cool and it's cool that you do it, but I don't want you to get hurt.' Hannah said.

'I won't.' Olivia promised, 'Elliot and the team will be there to back me up. Besides, I'm a good fighter and a decent shooter.' Olivia smiled. 'This operation isn't that dangerous.'

'Hello!?' Hannah shouted, 'You're going into a bar all painted up and in your prettiest dress, flirting like crazy with all the men, hoping you'll attract a serial killer! Not dangerous, my ass!'

Olivia hugged her and hid her smile at the same time, because she didn't want to make Hannah feel like she was not being taken seriously. 'I'm trained for this, I'll be fine.'

As they walked up to the door and Kathy let them in, Hannah panicked again and called out to Olivia, 'And where exactly do you plan on hiding your gun? In your thong?' Kathy's eyes grew wide and she quickly pulled Hannah inside.

'That would be interesting.' Elliot whispered to Hannah, as he came out of the house, which earned him a little smile.

'Don't worry,' He said, tousling her hair, 'Liv's a badass.'

A few hours later, Olivia was strutting her stuff in long red dress with an open back. She walked around, casually holding her glass of champagne in hand, on her high heels and with her diamond earrings. She blended right in, apart from the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous. And every man at the cocktail party noticed.

What they didn't notice is that she scanned the room non-stop. Then she would let the others know at once if she saw something suspicious. In the meantime, Elliot was walking around, dressed up as well, asking questions. A lot of women refused to give him any real answers though, but they did give him their number like that.

You could call the night a success, if both detectives had been looking for dates, but as for their killer; nothing. It was frustrating.

'What are you doing?' Olivia came home early the next day. Hannah was sitting at their kitchen table.

'Math.'

'Sounds like fun.' Olivia said.

'Did you fuck the Butcher?' Hannah asked, without looking up.

'Hannah!'

'I'm sorry,' Hannah said, sarcastically, 'Did you make love to a much misunderstood man?'

Olivia sat down. 'We didn't find him.'

'That's too bad.' Hannah kept on doing her sums.

'What's wrong?' Olivia asked.

'What makes you think something's wrong?'

'You're actually doing your math.' Olivia said, 'and your sarcasm kind of gives it away.'

Hannah put down her pencil and sighed, 'I'm really screwed if you die. Kathy hates me.'

'She lets you stay over, she doesn't hate you.' Olivia said.

Hannah was quiet.

'I don't think she likes me very much either.' Olivia confessed.

'She doesn't. Hannah said.

Olivia nudged Hannah with her elbow. 'You're supposed to say: No, that's not true!' Hannah smiled a little.

Finally, she smiles, Olivia thought. 'Now please, stop doing math! It scares me.' Olivia joked.

'If we would be under attack by aliens,' Hannah started, 'what would you do? Would you get your gun and try to fight them or would you report to Cragen and let him tell you what to do?'

Olivia wrinkled her forehead, thinking hard; 'I'd probably shoot aliens on my way to the precinct.'

'O, okay.' Hannah made a few notes.

'Why?'

'Research for a story.'

Olivia was just glad she was talking again, 'Can I read it when you've finished it?'

When Elliot came over, a few hours later, Hannah was in the shower.

'She forgot her glove at our place.' He explained.

'You didn't have to bring it all the way over.' Olivia said, after thanking him.

He shrugged, 'I didn't want her to miss it.'

Olivia nodded, with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

'Besides, I was on my way home, so it wasn't far.' Elliot added.

From the shower came the sound of Hannah rapping.

_''Hit the gas, put on a ski mask, right when we pass…_

_Smoke that ass_

_This ain't a game, straight up reality_

_Made by the streets, done by insanity_

_Drive-by, yea, it's the season_

_When the gangsta kills for no reason….''_

'Can't believe she knows that one!' Elliot called out.

Olivia just pulled up her eyebrows.

Elliot looked at her with a surprised look on his face, ' 'Once upon a drive-by'? You don't know it?'

'No.'

_''Time is ticking, the world's gone bad_

_You ain't with it, you better step back_

_Feel the wrath of the Gangsta Rdd…'' _Elliot tried.

'No.' Olivia repeated.

'It's a classic!'

'You listened to hiphop when you were a kid?' Olivia laughed.

'Yeah! This song had the best vibes.'

'Right…' Olivia clearly wasn't impressed, 'The white gangster who became a cop.'

Elliot smiled, slightly embarrassed.

'Did you see the note?' Hannah asked Olivia, when she came out of the shower.

'What note?' She asked.

'I left it on the table.' Hannah explained, as she disappeared into her room again. 'You didn't tell me you had a new boyfriend!'

Olivia didn't understand and walked over to the table. There she found a red rose, with a little card attached to it. She looked over to Elliot, who read the card out loud.

'It says; 'from your secret admirer'. He looked at Olivia with concerned eyes.

'Don't tell Hannah.' Olivia whispered and Elliot nodded. SHe didn't want her to worry, but she could feel chills going down her own spine.

* * *

**Please review :)**

**The song Elliot and Hannah rap, is 'Once upon a drive-by' by Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E, awesome song ;)**


	45. Worries

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 45: Worries

As a kid, Olivia dreaded the parent-teacher conferences. Mostly because her mother was a drunk and she prayed to God she hadn't been drinking before each conference. In a way it was better if she wouldn't show up at all, except that made the teachers ask even more questions.

Now she was here herself, as a parent, and she hated it. She'd even come to dread these meetings more than she did as a child. She never knew how much these other mother could judge with their eyes. How they talked about their kids, as if they were the stars, and the others were just losers. Imagine what they were thinking about Hannah. She had to admit though, some were okay. Some kids had hard-working moms or single parents who struggled to keep their kids in school, but did it all with a smile and an ironic remark, to not let life get them down. These were Olivia's kind of women. But these class meetings reminded her of high school and the she still wasn't part of the popular group.

It was late in the afternoon and the teacher kept going on about some school play they planned on doing. A mother with fake blonde hair kept jumping up and down, offering to help in any way possible. Olivia sighed and she turned around to look at her in disgust.

'Some people support their children.' She snapped. Olivia rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into a fight.

So she smiled at her, 'And some people work to support their kids.' She replied, 'I'd love to help, but I have to schedule it around work.' The teacher nodded. She understood that a lot of mothers struggled with the same problem.

Again, Olivia leaned back in her way too tiny school seat, with a bored look on her face. Hannah would love to be in a play though, she thought.

The truth was, Olivia had other things on her mind. After she'd gotten that rose, which was almost a week ago now, she'd been on edge ever since. At work they'd gotten nowhere. All they knew was that Olivia could be his next target, but it could be months before he acted. Her hand was always on her gun now, she'd noticed. And Hannah. Her little girl was not an idiot and had noticed something was wrong from day one. Olivia tried to brush it off with a joke every time she confronted her, but when had that ever really worked with her?

The teacher had a discussion with some of the parents about the vibe in the class. She said it was a good one and they started talking about how to monitor your kids. A mother was worried after she'd seen another abduction on the news and asked for advice.

'What should I do? I don't want to keep my kid locked inside all day, but I'm scared every second I let him out.' She said.

'Why don't you ask her, she's a cop.' A women jerked her head towards Olivia.

Olivia leaned forward on her knees with her elbows. 'These things can happen to any kid, at any time, everywhere. Locking them up won't do them any good, but keep a close eye on them. Let them play where it is safe…'

'O, yeah?' Another mother interrupted Olivia and challenged her, 'What about your girl? Where is she right now?'

Olivia took a deep breath, 'I'm not sure. She's out, playing ball, I think.'

'So much for keeping an eye on her…'

'If you'd let me finished,' Olivia emphasized slowly, 'The best thing you can do is teach your child to be careful: don't talk to strangers, don't take candy from anyone, don't follow anyone who has a puppy; these are the standard tricks to taking a child. Teach them to trust their instincts.' Olivia paused for a second, 'My girl knows all of this and knows the dangers of the streets better than anyone.'

'Your kid is special, right?' Yet another mother mocked Olivia.

Olivia really didn't feel like explaining, but she could see by the looks on their faces that she had no choice. 'My kid lived on the streets 'till she was nine.'

Every stared at her with shocked expressions. It was like the air got sucked out of the room. Even the teacher was clearly searching for words.

Then they all started whispering, asking Olivia questions and making very diverse remarks:

'Wait, she's in the same classroom with my child?'

'That poor girl…'

'Well, that explains it.'

'What happened to her?' A mother, who sat next to her, asked Olivia. Just Olivia.

'We're not sure. We think she was born on the streets and her mother was a teenage junkie who died soon after. All Hannah remembers is that she's always been on the streets.'

'On her own?' The same woman asked her.

'Yeah.' Olivia swallowed, 'But she's with me now. She'll be can sort things out together. But I can't lock her up inside now. She's lived on every street of Manhattan for nine years, if she feels trapped now, she'll run back to it. That is far more dangerous than her playing ball in the afternoon.'

After that story, everyone was quiet.

She texted Elliot on her way back. He didn't want her to walk around alone, after the threat she'd received. I have Hannah for protection, she texted back, even though that was a lie. She still had to pick her up.

A few blocks away, she asked father Michael if Hannah was there. She used to play basketball there and he kept an eye on her. He directed Olivia to a block just a few streets away. Father Michael told her they played stickball there.

As Olivia walked those streets, she could hear the sounds of the kids playing. This wasn't a dangerous neighborhood, luckily. Hannah kept clear of those parts of town mostly now. She was still scared she'd run into some people from her past, who would be less than happy to see her now, but Olivia knew she also kept away for Olivia's sake; Hannah knew it would make her worry.

'Get back, get back!' Hannah was calling out, when a tall kid came up to bat. She bent her knees and punched her glove in anticipation of his swing.

He hit the ball and it went flying against the wall of the apartment building, where it bounced off, down the street. A few men who were following the game from the window, cheered at his swing. The boy ran down first base, as Hannah sprinted after the ball. She quickly threw it over to the boy on second base.

'Run!' Hannah screamed, as he caught the ball and had to touch second base first.

A loud wave of cheers went through the kids and spectators as the boy got tagged out.

'Shut up!' The same boy called out to Hannah, as she did her little victory dance.

'Aww, poor baby,' Hannah taunted, 'There's no crying in baseball, remember?'

'I'm not crying!' He turned red as the other kids laughed at him.

'Yeah, you are!' Some other kids said.

The boy took up the stick they used as a bat and pointed it to Hannah. 'Okay, you! I'll pitch and you swing. Shut your loud-ass mouth and prove it.'

Hannah grinned and walked up to him. She was about half his size. 'Sure.' And she got ready to swing.

Olivia let her play that inning and then took her home. As they walked through half of Manhattan, or so if felt to a very tired Olivia, Hannah threw her baseball against all the walls. The idea was that she'd catch it again with her glove, but she failed half the time. One time she even accidentally threw it inside an open window.

'Uhm…Sorry, Lady?' Hannah stuck her head inside the window. 'I need my ball back.'

'Why don't you come up to my front door and ask me again, politely.' The woman demanded, as she blew smoke into Hannah's face.

Olivia pushed a reluctant Hannah towards the door. After she'd rung the doorbell, a screaming lady opened up and dragged Hannah inside. Olivia watched them through the open window, as the woman had started cursing at Hannah in what sounded like Serbian.

She slapped Hannah around the head a few times, not too hard. Olivia was a little amused, but still didn't like her smacking Hannah. 'Okay, hey! She gets the idea. Just give her the ball back and stop hitting my kid.'

'This is not your kid.' The woman laughed. 'I know her. She's been around longer than I have.' And she smacked Hannah again.

'Hey!' Olivia yelled again, 'She's my kid, alright? Unless you want a ride to the station, you leave her alone.'

The woman scoffed and turned around to slap Hannah again. Only this time Hannah ducked and grabbed her ball.

'Come on!' Olivia pushed the window open a little more and Hannah jumped out, like a cat.

'Once a rat, always a rat!' The woman called out after them.

'Nah, I got a crib now!' Hannah turned around, still walking off, 'But once a bitch, always a bitch!' Followed by a lot of Serbian swearwords.

Hannah laughed and Olivia looked at her. 'What?' Hannah said, cockily. But she knew what Olivia meant and was quiet again.

'I liked your homerun.' Olivia said, referring to the stickball game before.

'Easy.'

There was a letter on Olivia's mat when they came home. It seemed to stare at Olivia, daring her to open it, as she put her keys away. Olivia recognized the handwriting at once. She quickly let it slip into her pocket.

'What's that?' Hannah demanded. Olivia cursed quietly.

'Don't think I didn't see it.' Hannah's eyes demanded an answer.

'It's nothing but bills.' Olivia tried.

'No, it's not.'

'Hannah…'

'Give it to me!' Hannah yelled.

'I'll fix it, it's nothing for you to worry about…'

'GIVE IT TO ME'

Olivia couldn't find the words to reassure her. She just didn't want her to worry. She didn't want to involve her. She just wanted all of this to go away.

Olivia sighed, 'Let's just eat and we'll talk about it later.'

'I won't eat until you give it to me!' Hannah threatened.

Olivia figured she had to be strict with her, to keep Hannah safe. She just couldn't let her get involved in this.

'Fine. You have to eat at some point.' Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Hannah mimicked her pose and they faced each other like ancient warriors.

'Watch me.'

* * *

**Didn't want to leave you hanging for too long, let me know what you think.**


	46. Active

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 46: Action

Of course, Olivia rushed to the precinct as soon as she'd received the letter. Well, after her little showdown with Hannah. But she knew she had to take it to the lab for prints and analysis. Also, they really had to hurry with the investigation; the letter had scared her.

As they sat in the cab, Hannah was giving her the silent treatment. She was staring out of the window, with her cap drawn over her eyes. Olivia shook her head at the stubborn girl.

Then she opened the letter and read it again. She could see Hannah watching her from the corner of her eye.

_My darling Liv,_

_I've noticed you've been waiting for me. Yes, I have noticed. The police escort you had this week was a cute touch._

_Speaking of cute, you really should become an actress. I loved your little act at the cocktail party!_

_But lets get one thing straight:_

_You're name's Detective Olivia Benson._

_You work at the 16__th__ precinct police station._

_Obviously I have your address._

_You wear grey sweatpants and a black shirt to bed._

_So can we quit playing games now?_

_I'll see you later, my little mouse._

_Your secret admirer_

Olivia sighed and folded the letter back up. Hannah was still pretending not to look at her.

'We might have to go away for a while.' Olivia said to her. Hannah didn't respond, but Olivia knew that look and that frown; the radars in Hannah's brain were working overtime.

At the station, Elliot took pity on Hannah. He tried to make her comfortable, but she hardly responded. Munch offered her some food, but Hannah declared in a loud voice that she 'wasn't eating until she had read that letter for herself'.

Olivia came back from the lab, after dropping off the letter, and talked to Cragen. After that she went over to her locker and rested her head against it. She sighed deeply.

'Are you okay?' A deep, soft and familiar voice said next to her.

'Of course.' Olivia shrugged.

'Hannah's not eating.'

Olivia smiled without humor, 'I know. She wants to read the letter.'

Elliot pulled up his shoulders, 'Let her.'

'I'm not letting my kid blackmail me.' Olivia said, in her stone cold voice; the one she usually reserved for suspects.

'Olivia, she's not a perp. She's concerned.'

'I know that, El.' Olivia's voice had softened a little, 'I just don't want her to. She'll try and figure that letter out, she won't sleep, she'll feel unsafe…'

'Probably, yeah.' Elliot cut her off. 'And with good reason.'

'God…' Olivia muttered.

'Olivia!' Cragen called her over, 'You and Hannah will go to a safehouse tonight.'

'Cap…'

'Don't argue with me, you're going.'

'Yes, Sir.' Olivia mumbled.

'And make Hannah go.' Cragen said over his shoulder, as he walked away. Olivia nodded, as if it was nothing.

Hannah had walked off a while back and Olivia had just let her. She didn't think Hannah would be so stupid as to leave the building. They had checked both the letter and the envelope for fingerprints but found nothing. Warner thought he was wearing gloves.

Usually they compared the writing to the writing of their suspects. Except, there were no suspects now.

'He probably prides himself on his intelligence.' Dr. Huang said, 'He even wrote Olivia a letter to prove what he knows about her. He's most likely intelligent, but overconfident.'

'So, all we can do now is wait for him to screw up.' Cragen concluded.

'Unless Warner finds something.' Fin said.

Elliot shoved his hands into his pockets, 'Let's hope he doesn't screw up WITH Liv.'

Cragen didn't expect any sleep that night. He sat in his office, going over the case files again, when there was a small knock on his door.

'Come in.' He wondered whom it could be; most detectives hardly ever bothered to knock. They just waltzed on in.

Hannah stuck her head around the door, 'Can I talk to you?'

'Sure, come in, kid.' Cragen realized that this was probably hard on her.

'I want to talk to you like an adult.' Hannah sat down and looked very serious.

Cragen put his pen down. 'Alright.'

'Olivia wants to protect me, that's why she's not telling me anything.' Hannah started, 'But I'm not your kid, so you can talk to me like an adult.'

True, Cragen thought. Olivia tried to protect her like this, but he didn't think it would work from the start.

'So what do you want to know?'

Hannah was so relieved he asked her that. 'About Liv. I need to know what's going on with her. I mean I live with her, she's my mom and I have a right to know… everything!'

'So what do you want?' He looked at the frustrated child.

'I want to see that letter.'

'You have to ask Olivia that.' Let's not get too involved in parental matters, he thought.

'Fine. Then I want to know about this guy who's been sending her these things.'

Cragen opened a file. 'They call him The Butcher…'

'I know all that.' Hannah interrupted him, impatiently, 'Tell me something that's not in the papers.'

So he did. He talked to her like she was an adult and explained everything to her about the case. Slowly, he saw the frustrated panic of not being let in disappear form her eyes, only to be replaced by a an empty look of helplessness. She thanked him and left the office with drooping shoulders.

Alex drove Olivia and Hannah to their safehouse, simply because she was leaving and they needed a ride. Also, she had a car of her own, not a police car. They wouldn't attract attention this way.

'You want to get pizza?' Alex asked, trying to break the silence in her car, 'For you two to eat later…'

'Well, I don't see the point.' Hannah said, in a sarcastic voice, 'I don't eat and Liv only eats pizza when she eats with me. Otherwise, just green stuff.'

'Hannah…' Olivia sighed. She was tired. 'How long are you going to keep this up?'

'Give me the letter.'

Alex was thinking she liked the silence better than this.

'I can't!' Olivia called out, 'The lab is still examining it.'

'That's just lame!' Hannah bent forward to her.

'It's the truth!'

'It's an excuse. You read that letter a thousand times, you know what's in there.' Hannah threw back.

Olivia searched for an answer with open mouth.

When they'd reached their destination, Hannah went inside at once, still angry.

'Just tell her!' Alex also advised. Olivia was getting sick and tired of people saying that to her.

'She's scared to death she'll lose you.' Alex continued, with her no-nonsense voice, 'I understand you want to keep her out of this, to not worry her, but that's already too late. She has asked Cragen to fill her in and me as well.'

Olivia turned around to face Alex, 'She asked you what, exactly?'

'About previous cases like this, with what kind of evidence we convicted, those kinds of questions.'

Olivia frowned.

'Don't let her get any more cold and distant from you.' Alex said. 'It'll be better if you face this together.'

Olivia smiled a little, 'When did you become an expert on parenting all of a sudden?'

'O, I know about cold parents.' Alex said, without emotion in her voice. Olivia looked at her for a second, nodded and got out of the car.

They were taken to a crappy one-room apartment for a safehouse. Hannah had found the remote control already and was watching the sports channel.

'How are the Yankees doing?' Olivia asked.

Hannah sighed audibly, 'I know this trick. You're not gonna get me to eat.'

'I understand.' Olivia picked up a bowl, 'At least now I can eat my green stuff.'

'Whatever.' Hannah stared at the TV.

'Listen to me.' Olivia started, but Hannah wasn't paying attention. So Olivia took the remote and turned off the TV.

'Talk fast.' Hannah grumbled.

'I'm scared too.'

'That was fast.' Hannah muttered.

Olivia stroked her hair and to her relieve, she didn't pull back. 'But I don't want us to fight. I'm sorry to have kept you out. I know you understand a lot more than the average ten year old.'

'I'm not a baby.'

'I know.' Olivia said again. 'I'm sorry.'

'Will you tell me what was in the letter?'

Olivia looked Hannah in the eye, 'Let me make you a deal; I'll tell you whatever you want to know about the case, as long as you don't interfere with our investigation or get in our way.'

Hannah nodded and said after a while, 'Does all of this mean I don't have to go to school?'

Olivia laughed and pulled Hannah's cap down, 'Not for a while, no.'

'Awesome!' Hannah said and grinned at Olivia.

'Which means you're stuck here with me.' Olivia said, pulling the corners of her mouth down.

'That is unfortunate, yes.' Hannah nodded.

'Hey!' Olivia threw a pillow over to her and Hannah swung one right back into her face. Somehow, Hannah ended up in Olivia's arms after their pillow fight and Olivia lay on the couch, holding Hannah.

'Just… don't go away.' Hannah whispered.

'I'm not going anywhere, baby.'

* * *

**As always, please review :)**

**And to the person who commented and asked me what happened; why I no longer update every day: University happened ;) I try to update as often as I can, I'm sorry if it takes so long!**

**Also, to all the others, you can ask me whatever in the comments and I really love receiving advice on the story as well!**


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